The Light of False Hope
by jason wu
Summary: Sometimes, one small mistake is all that is needed to ruin a man. Can this Fool, sole survivor of a dead world save another one from incineration?
1. World's End

**I'm not very confident in this first chapter but it was worth a shot. Before I started my first fic Steelish Silver, I had wanted to write a Fate x Persona 3 fic but doubted my abilities and the fact that I'm not exactly what one would call a Fate lore expert by any means.**

**I've seen how the fan base just goes in on mistakes other authors made so it made me hesitant to even post this. That said, I'll also be relying on you guys to fill me in on the lore and how magic works and all that jazz. That said, thanks for tuning in.**

* * *

After reaching into the dark still seas of the umbra cosmos, Messiah his new Ultimate Persona broke down into motes of lights dancing erratically before entering his body creating a transparent barrier with a golden radiance. Minato soon reached Nyx and landed on the black ground, no not black just unseen. The only light of this realm was Nyx and himself.

Minato stared the being down with nothing but determination in his eyes. Seeing the spheroid entity known as Nyx up close, Minato saw true beauty. A beauty beyond the physical sensual form of the human female body.

Nyx looked like an egg-like oval spheroid, with a distorted crimson core glowing mutely that translated one semblance of 'emotion' clearly, sheer apathy towards the end of the species known as Humanity. She possessed clear tendril like wings detached from the egg like shape itself. The weight of its existence was heavier than gravity and just going up against it felt hopeless, the Fool finally understood the words that Ryoji told him a month ago.

Minato felt like a spec of sand compared to the Star Eater Nyx. For the second time in his life, the Wildcard felt a crushing fear and terror staring the entity down.

So, this was what his friend knew all along, Minato understood what despair that the Shadow harbored all this time.

But even so, he can't give up. Everyone down there… they were all depending on his victory… no matter the cost, there must be SOMETHING he could do. But even his newest and most powerful Persona Messiah was no match against this colossal being.

He clenched his fist and looked into Nyx's 'eye' directly. If this was his final battle then so be it, even so he wanted Nyx to know Humanity's spirit. Nyx would never comprehend the meaning of his actions and would deem it merely irrationality of an imperfect species but what's important is that it held significance to him.

"Come Forth, Messiah!" Minato Arisato pressed the Evoker into his temple and fired the spiritual bullet. The pure white entity held its free hand and aimed at the being that gave Death to the world and opened the coffin lids it was holding in its other arm.

"Morning Star!" An attack that should been exclusive to Helel and its demonic counterpart Lucifer but despite that Messiah inherited the Skill even though neither of those two Personas were used in Messiah's creation.

A gigantic sphere of golden light slammed into Nyx causing a tiny crack at the tip of her wings. The coffin lid spat out multiple smaller blue orbs of Almighty light in rapid fire targeting the crack that the initial Morning Star managed to create.

If it could bleed, then it could be defeated.

Minato barely had time to widen his eyes in shock as Nyx immediately retaliated charging an attack of her own. An orb of pure energy was forming at her crimson core and was growing larger and larger at every passing moment. That attack was the pure embodiment of true death.

The pulsing orb of volatile darkness was tinged with a sick shade of dark crimson aimed towards him and was launched with the intention of instantly ending his existence to the point of even the death of the soul. Rather than pure death, it was likened to an attack of destruction, a skill that reset the creations of the universe and more importantly, that orb was descending at an alarming rate. It was even faster than the speed of light.

The very moment that sphere of energy slammed into Messiah, Minato screamed in pain. The Persona gathered up Almighty energy of its own in a valiant attempt of shielding its lord, but Nyx's spell shredded through the half-formed Morning Star like butter and disintegrated the Persona.

The orb of darkness was not impeded in the slightest and engulfed the entire frame of the field leader of SEES.

The Persona User fell to his knees and blacked out from the agony.

* * *

His vision faded and found himself in the Velvet Room. He heard the familiar background music that soothed his soul without fail.

"There's no need to worry." Igor the proprietor of the Velvet room said calmly. "This isn't the afterlife; you are still alive." Minato let out a shaky breath of relief. He thought that first and last attack did him in, it was beyond that Megidolaon that Elizabeth used.

"Do you remember what I once told you, young man? That the strength of your Social Links would determine your potential?" Igor asked in a knowing tone. "Listen… can you hear their voices?" He cupped one ear with his arm making a half funnel shape.

The Wildcard simply closed his eyes and focused.

"Each power by itself is quite miniscule, but their all without a doubt directed towards you." The Long nose denizen stated calmly. "Have they reached you I wonder?"

There was no need to even think up of a response. "Yes, they have."

When he had nothing, those people, their trust in him gave him new life. It gave meaning to his life that he hadn't felt in over a decade and that power manifested itself in the Ultimate Personas of their respective Arcana.

A mass of energy was gathering and formed a glowing rotating sphere, it was a mysterious but calming light.

A mass of energy formed from nothing but the powerful emotions of the loved ones that he met less than a year ago, but it meant more than the world to him. A power formed from his heart and many others flowing back into him.

"I never dreamed of seeing that card with my own eyes." Igor said in awe. "Behold, this is the last power for both myself and for you to unveil."

"It is the power to bring about a new beginning or the absolute end, with this new-found power it may be possible for you to defeat the one that can't be defeated." Regardless of what happens next, this man was undoubtedly the greatest guest that step foot in the Velvet Room.

Minato nodded. "…This is the end, isn't it?"

"Yes, if harboring Death was your fate, then acquiring the power of the Wildcard is also your fate; you must accept your own fate now."

He nodded again. He was never a man of much words.

He was brought back into reality and was rewarded with another blast courtesy of Nyx floating nonchalantly. It was as usual still brutal to endure but even so, he must continue forward. Finally… finally he had a chance at victory, no matter how slim

A miracle was in his hands.

"Even if you're all alone, you're not lonely by any means, can you hear their voices?" Elizabeth's voice went through his mind.

"Mr. Arisato! Don't let it end like this ok?" Ken said placing his power and trust into him as well.

"I won't… I absolutely won't" The Fool thought with renewed determination.

"Arisato! no matter what happens, you and the rest of us are one!" His Senpai Akihiko Sanada stated.

After feeling another rush of power Minato responded mentally to his heartfelt words. "…Thanks."

Upon that a new blast of deathly energy was launched at the Wildcard even larger than before. Nyx up above him was confused why this lower life form still continued to stand. What she just shot out was enough to kill a world but this… thing continued on to exist.

He brought one of his hands to shield his own face, in a last-ditch attempt of lessening the damage. It burns! His soul hurts, it shrieked in indescribable agony. Something fundamental about Minato cracked, something was wrong!

Defeating Nyx seemed daunting even with this new-found power. Her existence towered over him.

"Please give Arisato our strength, the strength to stand against the Fall!" Mitsuru yelled even prepared to give her life. For the sake of this world, and to repay the sins of the Kirijo, the Red-haired woman was willing to pay in blood.

A new wave of power healed and refreshed him… but that burning sensation within his soul refused to go away. It was wrong and it was unnatural.

"…Thank You Mitsuru Senpai… but I've no intentions of taking that." Minato thought staring at the form of the heavenly divine being looking down on him. If anything, only he needs to be sacrificed.

It was too late to stop, he knew there was no turning back from this battle.

"If you don't come back, I won't forgive you!" Yukari screamed. Heh, even now she was still a Tsun.

Minato walked a few steps forward with a few labored breaths.

"Please, give him our strength, Our hopes to Arisato kun." Fuuka pleaded with her hands clasped against each other.

"L-Leave the rest to me." He muttered stumbling. The Fool felt so light-headed, he was about to pass out.

"Don't be the only one looking cool! I'm coming up right now, so hold up." Junpei shouted pointing his katana to the sky like one of those glowsticks fans waved in concerts.

You're… You're already helping me, Junpei." Minato said as he took yet another blast, after some spit escaped his mouth, he finally let out a slight smile.

He felt so tired. Another crack opened up on his damaged soul. It hurt like hell. Something was definitely wrong. The Death attacks that Nyx was unleashing, they were growing stronger but worst of all, there was something… different about them.

"Alright let's do this." Shinjiro's voice came out of nowhere. Despite the infinite size of the Sea of Souls, the Fool heard his message loud and clear.

"Let's." Minato genuinely regretted not getting to know him better.

He looked up seeing Nyx charging up another attack. There was something about it that was far more threatening that before, something made him sweat in dreaded anticipation.

"Arf!" Koromaru barked. He didn't need Aigis this time to understand him this time.

"You remember our promise, right?" Aigis asked out of desperation of her heart. "Promise me, promise you'll comeback." She pleaded her sole desire.

He didn't think that was possible anymore and that filled his heart with a deep regret.

With a final battle cry, Minato extended his hand upwards and prepared an attack of his own. When the power of the Universe clashed with the power of destruction, He blacked out.

* * *

"The Sheba Lens has detected an abnormality!" A female operator exclaimed with a bit shock and swear dripping down her face.

"Coordinates confirmed."

"Abnormal Values rising!"

"Laplace is getting a reading."

"Come on, Hurry you shit machine!"

A young woman in her early twenties bit the delicately filed nail of her thumb of her right hand and her eyes were narrowed on the monitor before her. She had a noble bearing with long Luxurious white hair stylized with a small braided section on the right side of her head. That braided side of her hair style had two strips of hair pointed downwards at the very beginning of said braid.

Her left side had a strand of hair pointed upwards for some reason but gave her a sophisticated yet almost wild look. Her name was Olga Marie Animusphere and she wore a personalized version of a female student's uniform of some kind with a complementary blazer of orange and black with frill on top a buttoned white blouse and a stylized red ruffle tie with an orange gem brooch pinned on it.

Normally she would reprimand or even fire her staff for using such uncultured language, but she couldn't blame her this time.

The light of CHALDEAS was vanishing and that could only mean one thing. CHALDEAS was a system that projected a copy of the planet's soul as its basis and was able to project the status of the world both past and future eras.

The light symbolized the stable existence of Mankind as a species… if that light vanished then…

Despite spending half her life planning for this moment, it was still a shock for an event that can threaten even the species with seven billion spread across the world to happen.

"CHALDEAS was created as a reproduction of the soul of the Earth," A brown haired man dressed in almost all green with a matching top hat that almost looked comical. "If the light of civilization is extinguished then…"

Hearing the voice of her trusted Lev, Olga quickly regained her wits. If it was anyone else who recited such obvious information on how the inventions her family worked on, then Olga Marie would have been more than a bit annoyed, but Lev has been her foundation for so long and she felt comfort in his voice alone.

If Lev was this calm and composed, then it would be shameful for her to exude such an image in front of the staff that the Animusphere family and the Mage's Association gathered. They were the best of the best in their respective fields and she was the head of it all and thus must conduct herself accordingly.

She unconsciously hugged underneath her chest with her left hand for some semblance of comfort. There was but one thing to do in such a situation. The only option left.

"Gather Humans who are Master Potentials right now!" She managed to keep her voice steady from the years of experience giving out orders. "We'll have to move from Rayshift experiments to actual use." If something threatened the existence of Man, then it's only natural to rely on Man's greatest champions to defend them.

The copies of Heroic Spirits known as Servants. Beings even beyond the axis of time and space.

* * *

His body felt like it was burning, that last attack knocked the breath out of stomach, and he landed painfully on the ground that felt strangely hard like some sort of metal like alloy.

Forcing his eyes open, all Minato Arisato saw was a white surrounding that he couldn't make sense of. The flashing lights that didn't help the case with his already damaged eyes.

**EMERGENCY ALERT EMERGENCY ALERT**

**DIMENSIONAL ANAMOLY DETECTED.**

**INTRUDER ALERT INTRUDER ALERT**

**INTRUDER LOCATED IN CENTRAL COMMAND ROOM.**

"Ugh," Minato wanted to clasp his ears to shut out the alarm, but his arms couldn't muster up the strength. The best he could do was roll over to his side trying to use his leg muscles to stand. The alarm at least meant that people exist in wherever he was sent to by the collision of spells.

Did those attacks from Nyx really damaged him that much? The pain made it hard to focus on anything else.

Getting on his knees, Minato stabilized his posture. The Persona User had to get out of here, there was still something he had to do.

**DIMENSIONAL ANAMOLY DETECTED.**

**INTRUDER ALERT INTRUDER ALERT**

**INTRUDER LOCATED IN CENTRAL COMMAND ROOM.**

The lights turned an obnoxious red and the doors or hatches from the sound of things opened. He also heard some fast-rhythmic stomping on the metal plated ground… roughly three sets of feet if he had to guess. All that time traveling Tartarus and avoiding the Shadows had finally proven useful outside those sets of circumstances.

"Who Are You! And how did you get into Chaldea?!" A feminine voice practically screeched at him. It wasn't shrill but the irritancy in it was clear to hear. Her companions unintentionally tensed up from the tone of their irate superior.

The Blue haired Fool on the other hand, almost didn't even hear her, his mind was swirling inside him and what she said was almost incoherent. Though he heard the last word that left her mouth clear enough.

Chaldea? What does that ancient country that was eventually absorbed into Babylon have to do with anything? Unless she's simply using that name as an inspiration for her organization?

It didn't matter, he still had to finish things.

Nyx… he had to defeat her. For everyone's sake. He had to… defe… defeat her. She was much more powerful than what he could've prepared for but he wasn't out just yet. Nyx has to rip his heart out of his chest to stop him from moving. Too much was at stake.

He should've gone through with his instincts and prepared to seal her away instead of countering her attack, but the Persona User panicked. His soul sustained a lot of damage from Nyx's attacks changing their nature and properties. He was prepared to stand up against her death attacks but the change in their nature made it a perfect counter to his blast of energy. A power of creation would lose against the power of destruction in a clash between them.

He finally got his foot on the ground with a knee resting on the floor to support his weight. He stumbled a bit but managed to keep his balance.

One leg at a time, if he can stand, he can still fight.

Oh God, his head was killing him, and his lungs couldn't seem to get enough air for some reason. The Vessel of Death didn't know if it was something physically wrong with them or he was just unable to calm them down to function properly.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?! I asked you to identify yourself!" The female voice grew louder and more irritated as if she felt this whole scenario was just a huge waste of her time.

The director of Chaldea was in the middle of finalizing the negotiations with the United Nations for the Master Candidates to deal with Singularity F and this… boy crashed in. luckily there seems to be no damage in her base but even so, Olga didn't appreciate this intrusion. Her time was much more valuable than most people.

"**That's it stand my Master."** A soothing voice spoke in his mind, it was a new voice that didn't even exist twenty minutes ago, but Minato trusted his life to that voice. **"This pain is nothing compared to the pain in your heart."**

Minato felt so light headed, he wanted nothing more than to collapse on to a comfy bed and rest easy, but he got up with both feet on the ground. He was up, he was standing.

"Uhh," The Persona User clutched his head to ease the throbbing. He breathed heavily but it didn't seem to help much, his lungs felt like they were on fire. His limbs felt like bolts of lightning were shot through them damaging his nerves.

"Lady Animusphere Stay back!" New voices were heard even closer to him. They were more rough sounding in comparison than this Animusphere's voice and thus obviously male. If he had to guess the age, then it would be around late thirties or early forties.

Minato heard the rapid stomping of their boots on the metal ground which startled him and that was the only warning he got before they tackled him back onto the floor that he worked so hard to get off of.

The Fool bounced on the ground slightly from the sheer force of that tackle. That also knocked the wind out of his gut. Today was not a good day for the Fool.

"Careful Lady Animusphere, this man is armed." Rough hands reached at his belt and wrenched the Evoker out of his holster. "Hmph, what an uncivilized weapon…perfect for an oriental eastern monkey like you." The man looked at the high schooler with pure disdain.

Minato didn't need to see to feel the other man trying to burn a hole with his gaze. This man hated the Persona User for merely existing.

Alexis Auburn gingerly touched the Evoker as if he was afraid of the germs on it. In his mind, just coming in contact with this eastern monkey and his possession was enough to taint him with his utter filth. The Magus needed to take a particularly long shower tonight to wash off his growing disgust,

He also noted that the gun itself was half melted for some odd reason and the metal was hot to the touch. Not unbearably hot to the point that it burns his hands, but it was unnaturally hot as if it was left by a sunny window sill for hours.

Minato never did anything to this man to warrant such disgusting behavior, he found him to be rather obnoxious, but Minato didn't care about that at the moment. Another thought was leaving his mind preoccupied.

This man… this man touched his Evoker. The Evoker that represented his membership of SEES. It might have been a mere tool used to channel his abilities, but that gun shaped object was one of the most valuable items of the Fool in terms of sentimentality.

"Give that back." He uncharacteristically glared at the other man. The Fool couldn't see where he was beyond the blurry silhouette of his frame, but Minato was certain that he was staring at that man's eyes regardless.

His gut told him so.

The Persona User heard the other male click his tongue. That usually was not a good sign. He heard it from Ikutsuki, Takaya and the delinquent thugs back at Port Island Station when they grew tired of talking.

"You filthy easterner… who the hell do you think you are." The man was disgusted that Minato was even breathing the same air as him. How dare this boy address him as if they were equals! That look the boy gave Alex whether he admits it or not gave the Magus the chills. The back of his neck sweated profusely from the cold heat of the boy's gaze.

Quicker than what Minato could respond in his damaged state, the older male smashed the butt of the gun shaped object against the Fool's temple. He was careful to avoid the spilling of blood so it wouldn't stain his clothing. That strike was to mask the bodyguard's own fears and it made him bolder, the blood proved that the boy was nothing special. His Mage-craft would be enough to end the boy in case he turned violent against his superior.

"Ugh," Minato grunted in pain. Normally a hit or two on his temple wouldn't hurt due to the passive boost in strength and durability being a Persona User granted but this time it hurt. He felt that the strike was more than enough to draw a bit of blood.

It hurt because his whole body was already wounded, his skin was burnt, multiple cuts from his previous battle with Nyx's Avatar, and his limbs felt like lead. The blood that the blow drew got into his left eye.

The blue haired Persona User hissed due to the blood irritating his already damaged eyes. He didn't like the man already, but it was fortunate that he could understand the language that was being spoken because they were definitely not speaking Japanese. He was pretty fluent in English due to growing up there with his father's side of the family located in Seattle. And Toriumi's lessons also refreshed his memory as well.

Alexis eyed the blood like it was the most putrid liquid in existence. "A lowly commoner like you should learn how to treat your betters." He all but spat.

Alexis Auburn was the third son of the Auburn family which prided themselves as the Mage's Associations Enforcers. They served loyally as their hounds for generations despite the other Magus families looking down on them for their profession. When he was assigned here in the Antarctic, he expected some role greater than a mere guard.

"Enough with this," Olga stepped forward despite the men's warning of Minato's armed nature. She was more than wary of the Persona User when she heard the alarm of the dimensional anomaly, but this was getting nowhere, and the conduct of Alexis was distasteful to look at.

Lucifer's blade was ripped out of his belt without care ruining the belt and holster of the Evoker. No matter how wounded a person may appear, it was dangerous to assume that they were done. Never underestimate a cornered animal for that is when they were most dangerous.

Personally, Alexis could honestly care less what happened to Olga Marie Animusphere. He found her to be incredibly immature and annoying to even listen to, she was mere little girl and it shows in her mannerisms, but he was a proud member of the Auburn family. It would stain his and his family's honor and image if she got harmed in his watch.

The white-haired Magus looked at the wound that the Enforcer inflicted with distaste. For a well-bred man, he was certainly without any manners or etiquette. She took out her handkerchief and dabbed the Japanese's bloodied head and wiped the blood out of his eye.

That was an act that most Magus wouldn't bother with, but it was an action that should be expected for a noble.

"…My Evoker, return it." The blue haired boy gasped out reaching towards Alexis' general direction.

Evoker? Was that the model name of his gun? She wasn't well versed when it came to modern weaponry and she had no desire to learn about the subject, it was useless information to her. That gun was the only item that was taken from him beside his sword.

"I hope you understand that I can't return this to you right now, you are still an unknown variable and a potential threat." Olga explained with the forced airs of an official.

Minato did his best to give her an unimpressed expression. "I'm wounded and could barely stand."

"I have seen people move with more severe injuries. How we decide to treat you depends ultimately how willing you are to cooperate with us."

If he was a normal human then after questioning, she'll simply have some one wipe his memories and ship him back to whatever country he came from. But Olga doubted that he was a normal human with no interaction in the hidden moonlit world.

Besides the dimensional anomaly that he traveled here by; this boy gave off a larger than life air. An air only those exposed to the true nature of the world is capable of exuding. Whether he was a Magus, Psychic, or more importantly, a Master Potential remains to be seen.

"Ugh… what do you mean by cooperation?"

"You can start with a name for starters, though anything else can wait after medical attention." The director crossed her arms. "Call for Romani." It he shows signs of being aware of the supernatural then he may possess potential as a Master Candidate, then it is worth pursuing even at the cost of some resources.

"I'm Minato Arisato." The Fool introduced himself with his first name first instead of the usual Family name due to the fact that that Japanese custom would cause some confusion with those of western descent.

He wanted to get back to Nyx and to the others, but he was in no state to get back now that his adrenaline that masked the pain was gone. He didn't know how to get back if he could in the first place with his own abilities.

"I believe he's on lunch break." The other male that wasn't Alexis said. That other bodyguard who was silent till now. He learned to keep his mouth shut when around Olga Marie Animusphere if he wanted to keep his job and maintain his family's honor. How ever annoying this assignment was, the Animuspheres were still lords of the Clock Tower.

"…We're using our resources for something like him?" Alexis raised an eyebrow voicing his displeasure. It was a waste to use resources on a lesser being without any form of tangible compensation. It was money better suited to be used to fund researchers to enhance the Global Environment Model Chaldeas. The Magical Theory to copy the soul of the world was rather fascinating and its potential to aid research was quite promising… and this child was using money to heal the eastern monkey instead.

Olga Marie Animusphere does not possess the qualities of a true Magus. That was the conclusion Alexis had come to. And to think the great Marisbury was capable of leaving such an inept bloodline.

"How I use MY resources is none of your concern." She found his constant questioning of her authority to be tiresome. The only reason she hasn't fired him was due to the fact that she didn't want to ruin relations with the Auburn Family.

While she found Romani's personality and buffoonery questionable, she was more than aware of his talents. Her father would have never hired this man otherwise if he was subpar, this dimensional hopper wouldn't be dying on his watch.

Now that this situation is settled for the moment, it was time to return to finalizing the negotiations with the United Nations and the Mage's Association. Now matter how skilled she was trained, Olga Marie Animusphere HATES politics.

* * *

Romani Archaman really didn't know what to make of this child that was working on. His patient was around perhaps sixteen or seventeen at the most. Physically, the body of the blue haired oriental teen was already healing on its own in an accelerated rate.

The healing was quite the spectacle to behold in person, despite the potent curses that his flesh had contacted, the holy energy that this boy was producing even when unconscious was… burning the curses that dared to taint his body.

Truthfully, there wasn't much that he needs to do. That was fine with him but he did place an IV drip for nutritional purposes and some Magical Energy diluted in the solution to make up what was being burned for his accelerated healing. He was stable and Roman was tempted to go back to eating his abandoned cake but the doctor decided against it. As much as he hated leaving his precious sweets, he hated getting yelled at by the director even more.

Though the boy's natural healing was indicator of Olga's hypothesis. He wasn't a mere human that had no involvement with the supernatural. Whether he had the qualities of a Master Potential remains to be seen. Whether or not his body was capable of withstanding Rayshifting was what differentiated Master Candidates from the usual term Master in standard Holy Grail Wars.

Roman adjusted his gloves and tapped the monitor to change a few settings. Most Mages hated technology due to science explaining phenomena is what weakens mysteries and thus Mage-craft is weakened. The previous Animusphere head disagreed with that notion and worked on magical theories that worked alongside the technological advances of man.

With a few taps on the screen, the status of his patient was shown on full display. Everything from his blood type, his genetics, brain waves, vitals, and more. They certainly didn't have this back in med school, life is so much easier with technology.

The doctor was going to check the man's potential to be a Master Candidate as per the Director's orders later tonight, but he might as well do it now to get it out of the way. Mourning his wasted cake one last time, he changed the settings of the device to show this young man's more mystical stats.

Roman blinked in surprise from what was shown. Well… that was unexpected. The head doctor thought the machine glitched up and was feeding him false information before realizing that the magical component of the device wouldn't allow that to happen. He really did not know what to make of what the screen showed him.

This high schooler had a Magic Core, a trait that humans do not naturally possess. There had been cases of Servants acquiring their Magic Core through some sort of Draconic blood like Arthur Pendragon the King of Knights, Siegfried of the Nibelungenlied Epic and his origin Sigurd of the Völsunga Saga. But the problem is that from what he could tell, this boy does not possess the factor of a Dragon.

It stands to reason some form of experiment was conducted in the boy's body to force that trait onto him. Neither Arthur nor Siegfried naturally obtained their Magic Cores, and it stands to reason that a human of the modern era would as well. Just what was done to cause him to become like this Roman had no idea and he didn't want to find out unless it affects the health of his patient. What ever was done, the essence that was enhancing the child was at least on par with the strongest Phantasmal species.

It was fascinating as it was disturbing. The presence of the Magic Core distracted the fluffy haired man from yet another anomaly within the blue haired teen's body. His nerves were not merely nerves, each of them was a pseudo circuit.

Every single nerve.

That was a maddening thought. He had heard of tales of overly ambitious Mages that tried to overcome the disparity between Mage families with multiple generations of breeding and research and their shallower histories. These lesser Mages choose to have their nerves undergo forceful mutation to attempt to create a lesser artificial circuit to increase their bodies ability to produce Magical Energy.

Those who failed died painfully, those who succeeded chose not to pursue this type of research again. The risks of this type of procedure was risky beyond all measure and only most fool hardy would continue to pursue it beyond surviving the results.

Ultimately, these artificial circuits wouldn't even be inherited by the next generation of Mages and was reluctantly abandoned to focus adding to the Magic Crest of the family. This was honestly madness.

He needed a drink.

Even if this young man wasn't a Master Potential, there's simply no way that the Mage's Association would ever let this one go. That Magic Core was too rare and valuable of a find to simply allow it to fade into obscurity.

Even the pure-bred families would be willing to forgo their racism to add such a man to their family through marriage in hopes of passing down even a fraction of that Magic Core's capabilities. Even should he be uncooperative, Magic Circuits were known to continue functioning even after the death of the person as long as their brain remains intact and the genetic information could be used to create superior Homunculus as well.

That healing was really something spectacular, Roman wondered just how potent that healing is. Taking a syringe, he drew a test tube's worth of blood from the vein located on the neck. If that blood show signs of cellular regeneration then it was well worth pursuing, the rich blood of the Phantasmal could be what will extend her life.

"How is he doing, Doctor." A soft-spoken girlish voice in her teens was heard.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Huh, Fine I guess." He quickly placed the test tube of blood in his coat pocket. Based on the scan, his blood is of the O- type, a blood type that only six percent of the world possesses and was known as the Universal Donor. Any one even a designer child like Mash could accept it.

"You guess? You aren't paid as the head of the medical department for guessing, Roman." She teased.

"Ha Ha, very funny Mash." He turned around to look at her by the door frame leaning on it. "The patient was already healing on his own, he was never in danger of dying in the first place." Supposedly he was in bad condition when Olga found him but by the time Roman arrived most of the burns on that young man's skin were gone.

"That's good to hear. I heard the director complaining a lot so I figured I'd come check out the situation." Mash sighed.

"She's rather childish, isn't she? A woman her age should act better." Roman was sympathetic regarding the situation regarding her father but some aspects of people never change. Olga had always been someone who wanted things her way or the highway.

"That's mean. You know how stressed she is with the ongoing negotiations with the United Kingdoms, the director had a lot on her shoulders right now." The Lavender haired teen reprimanded though she didn't disagree with the Doctor's assessment.

Roman didn't want to break it to the girl that Olga is convinced Mash will be the one to kill her with a rusty kitchen knife or something just as ridiculous concocted in her mind. Olga was convinced that Mash hated her despite it being the opposite, the designer child held no ill will toward the older woman and even thought of her positively.

Yet despite this, neither himself nor Lev Lainur could alleviate her paranoia of Mash but Roman managed to convince her to allow Mash to be a part of Chaldea's staff. It was a surprised that the director even agreed. Even being around Mash almost makes her regress back to her anorexic days.

He had wanted to see if he could change Olga's mind about Mash with them being in close physical proximity of each other. That unfortunately did not succeed, nothing they did alleviated the director's fear of the harmless glasses wearing girl. If anything, that managed to make her even more paranoid of Mash than anything else.

It was sad to think about, to be misunderstood so intensely like this. Mash was a type of person that would rather not hurt a fly if she could help it. She was a gentle and kind girl, one that he had hoped she'll get the opportunity to finally make some friends soon.

As well she gets along with him, Da Vinci and Lev, none of them could truly be her friend due to the large age gap between them. She might not have much time to meet that "Senpai" she wanted to be with all those years ago.

"Hey Mash… are you interested in becoming a Master Candidate?" Romani hesitantly asked. With Rayshift testing starting soon after the negotiations were done, the staff would also be tested for their potential as a Master Candidate alongside who ever the Mage's Association and the United Kingdom sends over.

Besides her physical condition, it was hard to justify Mash's absence in the testing. She too was part of Chaldea's staff even if her role in it is small.

"Master Candidate… if I qualify to be one then I wouldn't mind." Mash paused giving it some thought. "I don't know if I will be much use with this body of mine but I'll try to not slow anyone down if I am capable of being a Master." She didn't know how to respond to such a drastic change in topics but managed to give her genuine response.

As an Artificial Human created through genetic manipulation, she was identical to a Homunculus in terms of the soul's pureness. Even though the Demi-Servant project was a failure, a Designer Child's body and spirit was designed to interface with a Heroic Spirit. It would be unlikely that Mash wouldn't have the qualities to Rayshift.

"Well danger aside, Rayshifting might be how you get to see the outside world Mash." Romani ran his gloved hand through his hair. "Though I would've preferred you get to see the real thing."

"Romanticism is how one observes the world wishing for tomorrow's possibilities. That serious face doesn't suit you."

"…No one takes me seriously do they."

"You said it Doctor."

"Right, right. I should be saying 'no matter what you'll see both' Am I Right?"

"Now that's the goofy Doctor I'm used to." Mash let out a teasing smile. "Make sure you don't get lazy on the patient just because of your sweet tooth."

"…Now I'm sure no one takes me seriously."


	2. The Offer

**I'm not wholly satisfied with this chapter but I'm gonna upload it anyways. Anyways, I'm gonna use the Female Protagonist of FGO for this fic instead of Ritsuka Fujimaru due to the fact that I'm already using Minato as the male protagonist.**

**I was tempted to use both versions of the FGO protagonists but I felt that having all three (Plus Minato) of them would be too much. The whole premise of FGO was having the Last Master saving the human order but that kind of looses meaning if there's three of them.**

**Plus there's a whole lot more media surrounding Ritsuka Fujimaru male out there anyways. With the First Order movie and the new Babylonian one coming out. That and I feel Minato and Gudako have a complimentary color pallet with Blue and grey silver and Red and amber Gold receptively.**

* * *

Minato woke up feeling like shit, not even the fight against the Reaper or Elizabeth made him feel this tired before. The Fool hoped someone got the license plate of the truck that hit because he didn't have all the money in the world to pay for these medical expenses… he technically did through exploring Tartarus and just by walking around town. Sometimes money just drop onto his lap from nowhere, but he didn't want to explain why he possess so much money without a job. That's why he only used it to buy goods from stores where there's no digital trail that could trace back to him.

What was he doing to get this tired? He tried to recall before widening his eyes and sprang up from his medical bed.

Nyx!

He remembered now; he was fighting Nyx before this. How much time had passed since that battle and more importantly was his friends alright? He was giving that battle more than everything he had and… And he still lost!

Were they dead because of him? Were they dead sharing the same fate as those with Apathy Syndrome because of a single mistake he made?

"Whoa there, easy now son." A man with fluffy apricot colored hair hurried and push Minato down. "I get that your natural healing is quite impressive, but you really should be taking it easy."

"…Natural healing?" Minato tilted his head to the side. What natural healing? Regenerate didn't work outside the Dark Hour and he didn't have that Spring of Life ability Junpei had either.

"What! Don't tell me you don't know?" The fluffy haired man exclaimed. "Well… it's not my job to question, I'm just a physician. Have fun being interrogated by the director."

"Director?" This didn't sound good. Minato didn't want to know what interrogate entails, Junpei showed him too many spy movies and those films were pretty creative in those… scenes. He was pretty confident in his strong will, but he didn't want to push his luck regarding 'advanced interrogation'.

"Yeesh, didn't mean to scare you," The fluffy man sighed exasperatedly. "The director's a piece of work I'll give you that but I'm sure you'll be fine."

Minato merely nodded. This older man was really dictating the flow of conversation, he talked too much, and Minato talked too little. That needed to change sooner or later, that has always been his weakness regarding socializing with others.

"…Right, and you would be?" The Persona User realized he didn't even know the name of the man that saved him. He wanted to at least thank him properly for wasting his time on the Fool.

"Ah, forgot where my manners were." The Doctor chuckled. "I'm Dr. Romani Archaman but call me Roman, has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

This man seemed nice so far and was rather pleasant but then again… so was Shuji Ikutsuki. His fist were balled tightly against the bed sheets, fortunately the doctor didn't notice the tension in Minato's frame. Still, this man took the time to nurse his wounds and probably scrubbed his body when he was asleep. Romani Archaman or Roman as he preferred, deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"…Right, Minato Arisato." He replied propping himself up on the pillow. "Thanks for the treatment then."

"I actually didn't do much, like I said, your natural healing did most of the heavy lifting." Roman chuckled good naturedly. "Though, how did you end up here? The Director sure had a fit when you popped up on the scene."

This was the second time he mentioned his supposed abnormal healing, this man Roman didn't even sound all that baffled. That further confirms his suspicion, Roman wasn't an ordinary doctor and was aware that the world had more than meets the eyes.

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Minato raised an eyebrow. The surrounding were almost pure white with no decorations besides the monitors and other devices flashing with color and numbers that made no sense to the Persona User.

"You're in the facility of Chaldea, that probably doesn't mean much to you right?"

"Besides, that white haired woman screaming it belongs to her? Not really, no." Minato shook his head. He knew what the name originated from, but he doubted that meant much to his current situation.

"Heh, sounds about right." Roman smirked at the antics of Olga. That girl really doesn't change much. "We're in the Antarctic… six thousand meters above sea level to be more precise."

Why… why was Minato not surprised? Antarctic, at least he recognized the name of the continent. That confirms that he was still on Earth of sorts. Does this mean that Nyx has yet to wipe out mankind? Roman was standing right in front of him just fine.

Were his friends alright?

"Just take it easy, I'll have a change of clothes drawn for you." The Doctor got ready to leave despite the Persona User not answering his question. "Your… previous set was damaged badly and was not repairable." He doubted Minato really minded, those clothes looked like those high school uniforms that those Japanese comics had. Minato Arisato sounded Japanese enough to him.

"That's fine, what about my other belongings?" The Evoker had sentimental value that he wasn't willing to part, and Lucifer's Blade was the strongest weapon in his arsenal. They weren't items that he could simply replace at a whim.

"The director I mentioned probably had them stored away… something about you being a dangerous unknown and etc.," Roman replied. "Can't really say I blame her on that, you caused a dimensional anomaly kid, and no one normal carried weapons like that. Whether you get them back depends on how your little 'talk' goes."

With that, the hatch door behind him shut leaving Minato alone to ponder his words.

* * *

Dimensional anomaly? Was this really not the same Earth that he came from? That seemed to be a logical trail of thought since life was still walking around free of the Apathy Syndrome.

Minato was dressed in a hospital gown which he found rather ugly, but he didn't change into the set of clothing that Roman left him yet. Walking around the facility a bit, he eventually found the restroom and entered it.

It was actually very clean for a facility that had many staff working in it. Finding a stall, Minato closed the door and locked it. Taking a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some baby wipes, he wet the cloth with the disinfectant and ran it over his body multiple times.

They probably wiped his body down when he was unconscious, but it was better safe than sorry. He rather smell like disinfectant than body odor. He might have been imagining it, but he swore he could smell his scent beyond simply the sweating of the arm pits. Once he was satisfied, Minato wet one last baby wipe with regular water to get that strong chemical smell off his body to the best of his ability.

If he knew where the bathroom was then he wouldn't have needed to do this. It was rather degrading to him in his opinion.

The Persona User then washed his hair with those cheap shampoo and conditioner that those hotels had and dressed in the clothes that the doctor gave him. He had no real attachment to the Gekkoukan student uniform, he replaced them on a regular basis due to them being damaged in his battles against the Shadows.

Besides the black short sleeve undershirt, the clothes was a white collared uniform with a gray line going through the middle and the sleeves and two black straps, one was for decoration purposes and the other functioned as a waist belt.

In place where the tie should be on the collar, there was some sort of emblem resembling two vertical diamonds connected on an overlapped corner creating a miniature square in the middle of said emblem. White wasn't really his color, but beggars can't be choosers. The only time he would prefer to wear white was on hot summer days since darker colors absorb heat more compared to it.

Not bad, not bad at all. A bit flashy but it'll do. Now… if only he could get a black blazer over it.

* * *

**Year 2022**

Eighteen years after the Fifth Holy Grail War. Fuyuki City was a location on the island of Kyushu that was growing more and more westernized. Even the traditional half of the city Miyama Town was not secluded from this change.

More and more businesses and corporations built sky scrapers changing the look of the city based on the pictures that Shiori Emiya saw that her parents had laying around. For some odd reason, her friends and acquaintances keep calling her Gudako Chan and her brother Gudao Kun. And for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what that nickname meant or the reasoning behind it.

Well… she guess it was kind of cute. From her mother's antics, she learned that some things in life are just not worth questioning. like how aunt Taiga could smell her father cooking from half the city away.

Shiori Emiya was a 2nd year student at Homurahara Academy, she was a sixteen-year-old girl of average height with bright reddish orange hair that resembled a fierce fire. A rare hair color in these parts of Japan where black or brown hair was more common.

Her red hair was short compared to other females but long enough to be called shoulder length and for her to be not be confused with one of those extremely feminine boys that are becoming more and more common. She didn't know what happened, but Japan became suddenly demasculinized with her generation.

She stylized her beautiful red hair with an orange scrunchy tying around her left side. For some odd reason a piece of her hair on the right side refused to flatten out and curl upwards. She personally found it cute and gave her look more flavor, but it was really annoying, no matter what she did, that strand of hair defied fate. Was this the mythical ahoge that she heard rumors about?

Her eyes were a unique golden amber that shined like jewels, they were a brighter shade then what her father had when he was her age and the only traits that she inherited from her mother was her milky white complexion and gender.

Supposedly, her mother Rin told her that she inherited that hair of her father…but she almost didn't believe it.

Her father was a tall giant of a man that towered over pretty much everyone else in town. He had a mane of pure white hair, dark gray eyes and tan skin. She looked nothing like him, if it wasn't for the fact that they had photo evidence she would have thought her mother had an affair and attempted to pass it off as her father's child.

"Wa ha ha," Shiori laughed cutely. "Nice try Shiniko Chan but your still not ready to beat me. Wa ha ha ha ha!"

She was having a good day, not only did she beat that arrogant Shiniko Matou for first place in the exams, Shiori also finally tied in kendo against the second Tiger of Fuyuki Raika Fujimura. For the first time in her life, she stalemated Raika Chan into a draw.

Though the fact that Raika Fujimura mopped the floor with Shiori with fencing was left unsaid. As prodigious as the brown ponytail first year was at kendo, she was an absolute monster as a fencer. It can be said that she will eventually surpass her mother Taiga one day due to her talents in both Japanese and western swordplay.

"Hmph, L-let's see you say that next time Emiya!" Shiniko growled. She was in the same year as Shiori and they had a… strange friendship to say the least.

Shiniko was a few inches shorter than her and more petite in general. She had long slightly wavy hair of blue that resembled the gentle waves of the ocean… and if the Magus were to be honest, she was slightly jealous of her long luscious hair but only slightly.

The girl was supposedly of half Japanese and half Russian blood and to be honest, Shiori had no idea how Shiniko's father ever got a girl even if only for a few years. Shinji Matou just rubbed her the wrong way.

To put it bluntly, Shiniko was a massive bitch with an ego the size of the moon but despite that the red haired Emiya continued to hang out with her.

They had bonded when Shiniko's mother just left her and her father Shinji Matou without as much as a hello. Not that Shiori blamed her for leaving the creep but leaving her daughter was just scummy.

But despite her looks, the Shiniko Matou had next to no friends at all. She was popular but they both knew that they were fake.

Strangely enough, both of her parents liked Shiniko despite them grumbling bitterly about her father Shinji Matou which Shiori promptly nicknamed Wakame due to his hair resembling kelp. Her mother Rin busted a gut laughing the moment that name left her mouth.

"You've been saying that line as long as I can remember," The Magus teased. "Maybe Shiori Sama will slow down for your sake one day."

She swore Shiniko was practically had steam spewing out of her ears with how red her face had gotten. As far as she was concerned, that was how their friendship worked. The Matou gets to act all haughty and she got to rub her achievements to her face to drag her down. The blue haired high schooler gets pissed but she calms down quickly enough. It was a train wreck of friendship, but it just somehow worked.

"Now now, let's not fight okay?" A male voice that was the same age as they was heard. The voice was familiar too.

Ritsuka Tohasaka, Shiori's twin brother. While she resembled their father, Ritsuka looked like a gender bent Rin. Though his calm personality resembled more of Shirou then Rin.

"H-hello Ritsuka San," Shiniko immediately reddened in front of the sole male.

Ironically, their fathers couldn't stand each other, their relationship was much more… pleasant.

Another trait her brother inherited from their father besides his temperament is his luck with the ladies and the fact that their oblivious as a brick wall regarding the barely hidden lust of the opposite sex.

"And yes, I checked the exam results, good work you two." He complemented scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He really didn't know how to interact with those two during their competitive modes.

"U-um Ritsuka San, I got a spare ticket to that new Feather Rider movie that came out and I don't want to waste the ticket… so I was wondering if you would be interested in going with me on Saturday?" The Matou teen blushed an even brighter red.

Shiori wanted to shake her head, any woman could see exactly what was going through that Matou girl's head right now. As if she 'conveniently' bought an extra ticket and she doubted anyone would buy her tickets and just give them to Shiniko without something in return. Men aren't nearly as slick as they think they are.

Just like how the blue haired high schooler also 'conveniently' made an extra bento's worth of food when their father Shirou took 'business' trips every once in a while. They both knew that he was going on either a Dead Apostle hunt or dealing with a rogue Magus with a Sealing Designation.

Ritsuka Tohsaka noticed the increased redness of Shiniko's cheeks and wondered if she somehow gotten sick. The cherry blossoms are blooming this time of the year and thought that the pollen was getting to her. She was half-Russian and foreign people are sometimes allergic to the local flora.

Noticing the oblivious face on her twin brother, the red head wanted to face palm.

"Sure, I have time." The black-haired male checked his phone for his schedule. He already completed the research assignment a few days ago and his mother was working on some type of new theory regarding the Second Magic Kaleidoscope. It was better if he wasn't at the house for a while.

Shiniko gave the red-haired Magus a look that basically said, "stop being the third wheel!"

She was tempted to retort that her idiot brother was the one who barged in but relented. She had better things to do than see her foolish but endearing brother stumble around other women.

* * *

Minato was lost, at times like this he wished he had a Sensor type Persona like Fuuka's Juno or even a weaker variant like Misturu's Artemisia.

Everything looked the same and in the same unchanging white metal walls. He get that this was a facility of some sort, but this was getting ridiculous. The Fool Arcana wielder noticed something wrong, his tired soul aside, his senses were sharper than before.

His eyesight was better than 20/20 vision, his eyes could even focus like a camera zooming and focusing on a singular object. His sense of smell was better as well, perhaps that's why the smell bothered him. He didn't try to test his new physical capabilities, but he was certain he was more fit than before. Every aspect of him felt crisper and sharper.

The Persona User probably walked the same area three times before he noticed a slim lilac haired girl with a similar hair style as him sitting on a window sill reading a book. She had some rounded rectangular thick framed glasses on which emphasized her deep lavender colored eyes.

She wore a white hoodie with gray sleeves over some sort of professional dress that had a collar which had a tie with the same black two diamond emblem on the uniform the Doctor gave him. She wore black legging and a pair of brown ankle boots with black flaps folded over it.

She was beautiful, almost inhumanly so reminding him of how he first met Aigis back at Yakushima. She didn't seem real, like a designer porcelain doll with no imperfections. And like with Aigis, Minato was mesmerized at first sight. The snow falling on the other side of the glass gave her an almost ethereal look.

He was so fixated on her that he didn't even noticed the strange creature that was on her lap.

"Fou Fou!" The white creature made that cry alerting the Lilac haired girl of his presence. It was a strange white dog mixed with a squirrel with some cat like traits. He didn't know what it was, some kind of new animal species?

"Oh… You're the patient that Roman was working on." The girl said with a hint of surprise. "You recovered really fast; what type of Mage-craft was used to operate on you?"

Mage-craft… was that like magic? The craft in its name suggested it was something people can study and develop. Was it common? If it was at the point that doctors could use it then perhaps its something of common knowledge. The blue haired Persona User decided a neutral answer was best suited for this conversation.

"Who knows, I was unconscious during the procedure." Minato shrugged.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright." She offered.

"A bit stiff but fine…um Ms.,"

"Oh, I'm Mash, Mash Kyrielight."

"Minato Arisato." He tried to put his hands in his pockets and adopt his usual posture before realizing that this uniform had no pockets.

She giggled seeing him stubble stupidly after being denied his favored walking posture.

Well… that was mildly embarrassing.

Pretending that that never happened, he sat on the window sill next to her feet. She was shocked at the close proximity but moved her legs and changed her lax posture to avoid kicking him. Her legs dangled down the sill and she closed the book she was reading.

The white creature was not pleased at the change in posture and it barked angrily at the blue haired Persona User.

"Fou Fou!" It bit him on the pinky. Not enough to draw blood but enough to feel just how sharp canines can be.

Minato just grunted out of reflex and pulled his hand out the moment pressure between his teeth lessened. He hoped this dog thing doesn't have rabies or anything.

"Sorry about that, Fou didn't really mean anything by that. He gets nicer once he gets to know you." She apologized.

"…I'll just take your word for it." He rubbed his pinky gingerly. He narrowed his eyes at the creature and mouthed "No treats for you."

"Fou!" If Aigis was here, she would have translated it as "Bitch!"

Getting somewhat comfortable, Minato watched the snow fall monotonously. He loved snow, the atmosphere of winter was always beautiful to him and now he has Personas to block out the cold so he found it immensely more pleasurable. Mash was content spending her time with another person, the others usually had a rather busy schedule and she didn't want to intrude and bother them.

Huh, he really was in the Antarctic, wasn't he? That was probably the last place on earth that he ever wanted to visit. He felt like he was forgetting something right now.

* * *

"Where is He!" Olga yelled in pure frustration. How could have this have happened? She glared at Romani with venom in her gaze, was he that stupid or something?! Not only was he lazy as hell, he's so lackadaisical that she swore the man will cause her to wrinkle prematurely.

Why would he let an individual with a freaking Magic Core walk around the facility freely!? Who knows what potential harm will her Chaldea face with him up and around. She thought it was obvious that this Minato Arisato character was dangerous and needed to be supervised. Were her subordinates that incompetent that they needed her to give orders for every little detail.

Romani laughed nervously. "I mean, he seem friendly enough." At least he didn't give the doctor the vibe that he was a crazy mass murderer. He seemed genuinely calm and collected and a pleasant person to be around. Sure, he could talk a bit more, but Romani didn't see any problems with the blue haired younger male. Was he wrong in assuming a fellow member of society to act civil?

Olga just continued to give him a dirty look. "Where's Leonardo? Tell him… her whatever he is to accompany us. I know you two have lunch together frequently." Da Vinci might be of the Caster class one of the classes that even humans have the potential to challenge if caught off guard, but his Noble Phantasm was extraordinarily potent.

She was not taking any chances with that rouge element casually strolling around. If he truly has a mythical Magic Core of the Phantasmals then even the hired guards and professional Enforcers are not going to cut it. With him fully healed, nothing less than a Servant will be enough to defeat him.

"Director, I think you're getting worked up over a non-issue. He probably got bored staying still in bed and decided to stretch his legs a bit." He knew that Olga was probably going to punish him somehow later, but she was paranoid over anything she couldn't control. If she could be terrified of li lol Mash, then there's nothing she won't be wary of.

At the very least, the doctor could expect Lev have his back on the matter. They knew each other for years, ever since their academy days in the Clock Tower. Olga gets angry easily but calms down just as easily enough, so Romani wasn't all that concerned.

He was a simple man with simple needs, so his paycheck doesn't mean much to him… as long as she doesn't take his Magical Mari away. Magical Mari was the best stress reliever that he had; Mari just knew what words to use to loosen his tension.

"Why did my father even hire you?" Olga simply sighed. She was half certain that the world itself hated her at this point.

No matter, once Leonardo gets here from her/his workshop, they'll find the man soon enough. A Servant and a few trained Enforcers should be enough to deal with him but she rather it not devolve into a confrontation. Who knows what damages her Chaldea would suffer from if that would occur? She rather not even think about it, she stressed enough as it is and imaginary issues

One thing that she found amusing about the situation regarding the boy of the dimensional anomaly is that Alexis Auburn's reaction to the knowledge that the oriental boy had a Magic Core was priceless. The Enforcer looked like he was forced to swallow a lemon whole and if Olga Marie Animusphere wasn't trained to maintain her facial expressions, she would have laughed at his face.

* * *

Minato stared at the window sill for hours, he didn't know what happened to his teammates and friends after he woke up in this new world? The jury was still up on that one but if there's one thing he knew for certain was Nyx's power.

His very soul knew what realm she belonged to. Minato didn't want to stroke his own ego but if he couldn't defeat her then no one amongst SEES that could even stand in her mere presence. The Wildcard's mouth clenched tightly; the snow fall was a perfect representation of his inner emotions that he refused to show unto the world.

He wanted to cry but couldn't. his face couldn't muster even a single tear, his heart told him that it was already too late for SEES, for his world. He held out a desperate hope that it isn't so, that there's even a slightest possibility for him to right his own personal failings.

He honestly felt numb.

Finally, for the first time in his life he felt like he was a human like anyone else, that his life had meaning. He wasn't alone anymore, Minato had people, friends and colleagues that accepted him and his nature.

Now he had nothing.

He started his Journey with nothing and in the end, he left with nothing. Minato absentmindedly petted Fou despite it biting him earlier. Both his Evoker and the custom handmade headphones that Fuuka made for him were destroyed in the final battle.

He needed anything right now to distract him from those deprecating thoughts that floated in his mind.

"Fou Fou!" Fou the creature jumped away from his hands and leaped onto his shoulder and rubbed his side on his cheek. "Fou Fou Fou!"

Did…did this animal noticed his emotional state and decided to comfort him? Well, he did know the Shiba Inu Koromaru and that pup was much smarter than he gave animals credit for.

"I'm still not giving you snacks."

"Fou Fou!" The white beast said FUCK you to the male.

Minato let out a soft "I don't care."

"You can understand Fou?" She asked half surprised but impressed at the same time. she was probably the only one amongst the Chaldea staff that had an inkling of what Fou was trying to convey.

"…Somewhat, I had a friend that spoke to cats and dogs before and I guess she rubbed off one me." Minato didn't want to think about Aigis at the moment. All it does is remind him of his own personal failings. "Fou's surprisingly mean at times despite his appearance."

"He's just a bit spoiled with the treats that's given to him." Mash let out a tiny laugh which she blocked with her dainty fist. "Weren't you supposed to meet with the director once you were recovered?"

Oh. He forgot. First impressions, he wasn't looking forward to meeting this Olga Marie properly. Though first impressions were never the best amongst some of his Social Links. Kenji wanted to sleep with his Ms. Kanou, Tanaka was a shady business man, and Mutatsu was a drunk. Those were people most people would rather not interact with due to potential repercussions.

"…I somehow forgot about that." He leaned against the window, he just got comfortable on his seat and he's not going to move by his own accord for at least ten minutes.

"That's not good, she's going to not be h-" Mash started before another voice shot in.

"There you are!" Olga irritably strutted across the halls with her hands on her hips in akimbo style. "You know how long we've been looking for you?!" Her voice was going to go soar at some point if she kept yelling, that was the draw back of being the director.

"…" He simply shrugged much to her rising displeasure. The Fool found the white-haired woman too noisy and this was the only the second time that they met. Even Yukari wasn't this loud… and Minato immediately lost his flippant attitude.

He noted that besides this Olga Marie, there was half a dozen guards surrounding her. Romani was there looking a bit despondent and a woman wearing some rather odd clothing that is out of date for several centuries. It was rather difficult to describe it; she wore a red hat similar to a beret with two flaps of fabric that gave off the impression of a mini veil. It had a gold centerpiece giving it an almost crown like aesthetic. Her dress was a deep purple gray with a skirt of vibrant red with a golden outline and a bit of purple design on the waist. Her waist and hip section of her dress had some golden fishes circling her waist like an ouroboros. Her chest and certain portions of her shoulders had a dark navy-blue coloration with stars as decoration. While probably unintentional, that night sky design reminded him of the American flag. He seen it all the time since his father's side of the family was born there.

On top of her shoulders and above said dress was an elaborate cape that split into sections on the end decorated with red tassels similar on some Chinese weaponry. The interior of the cape was blue while the exterior was a deep purple. Her legs and left hand were covered with a blue stocking and arm gloves respectively while her right arm was covered by some sort of gauntlet construction that seemed mechanical based on the green circle of light that glowed and hummed quietly. The gray gauntlet was decorated with gold and even had two doves touching each other to form a heart.

The gauntlet looked menacing, even more so than his Evil Gloves and that was saying something. All Minato knew about that armored hand was that he did not want to get hit by that or that gigantic staff the gauntleted hand was wielding.

The staff had a gigantic circular head that was hollow in the middle to house a spiked purple-blue crystal that levitated by itself not suspended by the staff physically speaking. Underneath the golden and blue circular head of the staff had a swollen section that had four golden gargoyles for design purposes. The end had a point that could be used as a spear tip.

Minato raised an eyebrow at the bizarre sight. The woman gave him some odd vibes and he wasn't sure he liked it. She seemed nonhostile but his instincts warned him of the danger she could potentially be. As comical she appeared to be with her elaborate dress and mechanical falcon that was perched on her left shoulder, she was the most powerful of everyone that was with Olga.

For some odd reason, she looked really familiar to the blue haired male despite knowing this was the first time he ever interacted with her. He knew that for a fact that he never met her before, he was probably in an alternate dimension after all.

Knowing the threat this brown wavy-haired female represented, the Fool unknowingly got into a combat stance which caused the other bodyguards to tense. Only Romani and she was not tense from his change in posture.

In fact, Roman still looked rather dejected from earlier. If he had to guess, it was due to the fact that he left the sickroom without anyone's permission and that caused Olga to reprimand him. He was still an unknown after all and now he felt a bit bad for getting the doctor in trouble with his superior.

"Good instincts," Olga complimented as she noticed that the gaze of the Wildcard never left Leonardo Da Vinci despite being outnumbered. "You've noticed that she was the biggest threat. You would make a fine Master if you have the potential that is."

Master? Why did he have a feeling that she meant it differently from the usual definition of the word? He could just tell the emphasis and capitalization of that word.

Potential on the other hand got him on edge. He was more than aware Mitsuru spied on him when he first showed up in the dorm for his potential as a Persona User.

There was something odd, not normal about the people of this facility. That much was obvious since Roman didn't seem all that surprised with his irregular healing. Earlier, Mash even stated the term Mage-craft like it was common knowledge.

"Relax, Minato," Romani rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly noticing that the director kept glaring at him. "We're just going ask you some questions about yourself is all." He laughed nervously.

"And the rest of them?" The Persona User raised an eyebrow at the other guards surrounding Olga in a semi-circle formation. Without his Evoker, Minato couldn't help but be wary and tense. All the weapons he had were rather deadly and Minato didn't wish to show his hand revealing his dimensional pocket or how Junpei calls it the infinite inventory of a JRPG protagonist.

"Just a precaution." The strange clad woman said in a sing-song voice. This woman was dangerous, and he didn't need a Sensor type Persona like Fuuka to feel that.

She seems so familiar to him for some odd reason and that was starting to bother him, like an itch he couldn't reach.

He cast a glance at the guards with a neutral expression. They all had some strange type of weaponry; one had a dagger with the shape of a drill bit with weird symbols carved into it. Another had some gloves with the runes of fire etched into the palms and another carried a cane sword.

"I take it I don't have the option of saying no?" The number of guards around her said all that needed to be said. He didn't want it to devolve to violence either, Minato found it to be a waste of time as well.

"That's right you don't." Olga agreed. "You crashed into my Chaldea and thus, I'm entitled to some answers… or do you think having someone trespassing in another's house isn't a crime." She narrowed her eyes at him commanding him to submit to her authority.

The guards raised their respective weaponry. While his mind was racing regarding the situation, it never reached his face. His expression was blank as ever which made the others more wary of him than they already was.

Disagreeing would be the harder choice and it would put Romani in an even tighter trouble with the director as well. That and he would feel bad if a stray bullet or fireball hit Mash behind him or something, assuming those fire runes aren't just for show.

The Japanese teen's eye must have glanced at the lilac haired girl sitting on the window sill because the director's jaw clenched when she followed his gaze.

That was an… odd reaction. It was clear as day that she didn't like Mash but why? It was worse than the looks Yukari have Mitsuru before Yakushima… except multiple degrees higher. Minato could sense the fear of death from the white-haired woman like a shark can smell a drop of blood in the ocean.

He noticed Mash staring at the scene that was playing around her, she had a shocked expression on her face. Giving her an apologetic look he turned back to the matter at hand. "Fine, lead the way unless you want our 'conversation' in the middle of the hallway." He placed his hands in his pant pockets this time and managed to not look like a fool.

* * *

The Fool sat on an expensive red velvet chair while Olga sat on the other side of her mahogany desk with her fingers laced resting her chin on them. She studied him coldly, like she was undressing him with her eyes and wanted to dissect him to see what makes the Fool tick.

Minato noticed the man that took his Evoker and Lucifer's Blade. The man was in his late thirties with European features. Short dirty blonde and blue eyes with hawkish features. The Wildcard noticed the man and gotten a good look at him for the first time due to his eyes being damaged.

"Before you begin, where's my Evoker and my sword?" That was the foremost thought in his head. He was unwilling to part with either of those and letting other people touch them and attempt to find their composition of the materials used was not something he wanted.

The Evoker held a Plume of Dusk which causes the glass like shards that explode out the other side of one's head. It is a power source that only exists as a fragment of Nyx's original body based on Ikutsuki's files. They are not a material native to the planet of his dimension and Minato was willing to bet that it most definitely did not exist wherever he was right now.

Lucifer's Blade started off as nothing more than a Nihil Weapon which is something that even the Kirijo group is unable to properly research and as it exists now, "Jewel of a Fallen Angel" is much harder than even diamond with the flexibility of spring steel.

He really didn't want them to have them any longer in their possessions than needed. If they wanted some answers from him then they too must be willing to concede back his belongings.

Alexis opened his mouth to retort at the upstart oriental but stopped mid-way for some reason.

Olga made a noise resembling an amused snort before replying. "There in a safe a few doors down. Romani go fetch them." With a graceful wave of a hand, she dismissed the head physician.

"But I'm a physician, can't you get the others who you pay to do that?" The fluffy haired doctor complained but stopped once he noticed Olga's not so nice look that promised punishment. "…Right, going now." He quickly sprinted out as fast as he possibly can.

Her 'punishment' gaze reminded him of Mitsuru's "Executions". He reflexively shivered minutely. He still blamed Ryoji and Junpei for what happened in Kyoto.

"...Now, how did you cause that dimensional portal and why did you choose to land in my facility?" She demanded. She didn't believe in coincidences, the first dimensional anomaly after Singularity F was this teenager that has an unprecedented amount of potential as a Mage that even arguably surpasses the Blue Blood Noble Magic Circuits of the Barthomeloi family.

She wasn't a believer in fate or destiny but just what are the chances of her stumbling into such a Master Candidate just days after the discovery of Singularity F? Perhaps this is the will of the world setting up its chosen one.

"…" He honestly didn't know how the portal opened, he assumed it was due to the clashing of attacks between the Universe Arcana which was a power of creation cancelling out Nyx's power of destruction and nihility that caused it, but he couldn't be one hundred percent certain.

"Answer the question." Alexis Auburn said with a bit of edge in his voice. He already hated this teenager for being Japanese, now he despised him for having a higher Circuit count than him. He who was the result of generations worth of rich and noble blood within him, only to be surpassed by an eastern monkey that pretends to be civilized.

Olga rolled her eyes; it was as if a child acting threatening to a grown man. The innate magic resistance granted by Minato's Magic Core would cancel out any of the spells that Alexis could cast.

"I do not know why I landed in this place because it was never my intention to go through this dimensional portal in the first place." He eventually replied. "If I wanted to be here why would I show up in such a damaged state where anyone could have ended my life?"

He had a point there. Unless he did so to put them off guard. She personally believe that Minato Arisato was the unknowing agent of the Counter Force.

"What? Did mess up your ritual or something?" Olga said in a judging tone. "If you're dabbling in dimensional anomalies then you should have double and triple check your calculations. That's standard practice as a Magus."

She got the whole to be a Magus is to walk alongside death spiel everyone went on and on about, but there was a difference between walking alongside it and walking towards it.

"…Magus? Like a Magician?" Minato really didn't know how to respond when they so casually spew out terminologies like rituals and Magus as if it was common knowledge. He knew of time and spatial distortions due to the Dark hours and Shadows so the Prophecy of the Fall Ikutsuki and Takaya was so obsessed about could be considered a ritual of some sort.

"Do you take me for an idiot?" The director narrowed her eyes in displeasure and annoyance.

"…" Minato kept his mouth shut. He knew a trick question when he hears one. His face remembers the phantom pains of being slapped after saying yes to that particular question.

It was clear that she was not happy with his response despite him being as honest as he was comfortable with. He didn't plan to spew out information about Personas and Nyx to a stranger and an obviously high ranking official at that.

"You expect me to believe that a man who possesses not only a Magic Core, but had all of his nerves transformed into Artificial Circuits to not know what's the difference between a Magus and a Magician?"

Only the most ambitious and foolish of Mages would ever go through attempting to change their nerves into Circuits, there's no way this teen was this… ignorant… right?

"…I really have no idea of half of what your saying." Minato replied.

His face seems honest enough, but he could be acting. Olga knew better than to take the word of another Magus as truth. When she was still a student, she learned the hard way of what it meant of giving out trust openly. The only one in this world that she trusts was Lev, the man who brought her out of the darkness and rebuilt her. Lev Lainur was her light.

"Stop lying to me. You're not making a good first impression." The white-haired director felt patronized by this act of ignorance. She would've growled if she wasn't surrounded by company. She settled for the insulted narrowed eyes look which she delivered at full force at the teenager.

"If you're not willing to believe my words then I don't know what else to tell you." Minato shrugged much to her displeasure. "I will admit that I have seen time-space manipulations in person but I have never dabbled in that field. I really don't know what you mean by Magic Core or Circuits."

Could he really be not a Magus? It seemed rather farfetched. A Psychic would never need as much Circuits as he possessed and to change the nerves into pseudo Circuits would require at least a rudimentary knowledge in Mage-craft. The only exception to that rule was the spontaneous creation of Mystic Eyes.

Though that raises another question if his words were to believe. How did he or the people around him 'dabble' as he called it with time-space manipulation?

"Let's say I believe you, what do you intend to do now?" Olga asked. "You said you don't know how to travel back to your world." She had no intentions of letting such a rare and fine specimen to slip from her fingers. Even if he doesn't possess the quality of being capable of Rayshifting, her reputation in the Mage's Association would suffer if she let him fade into obscurity.

Too many of the staff knows of his existence to let him go back quietly. And it will honestly be a waste of potential.

"Okay, here's your things Minato, right?" Romani wasn't good at remembering names. "Uh, I can give this back, right?" He was still on thin ice with Olga and giving the person who she was 'questioning' his weapons back might not be a good idea.

"Go ahead." She waved it off. Her first reaction was wanting to deny this blue haired male's request for his weapons. She wanted to force him to finish and answer their questions, but it wasn't going anywhere. Even if she were to believe he was not a Mage, he had yet to explain his supernatural ties and his involvement with the dimensional tear which he got caught up in and the circumstances surrounding that.

Trust was a two-way street and while it was against her usual nature to acquiesce to the desire and wishes of another, she had a feeling that she had to show a sign of good faith with this Minato Arisato to open up regarding his circumstances.

Still, she wasn't used to this. She was used to having her desires fulfilled not the other way around. She doesn't like this one bit.

Lastly, she still had Leonardo in the room should he try anything. Even the weakest of Servants are beyond humanity and their capabilities.

Minato furrowed his brow when he saw his Evoker. The half-melted contraption meant a lot to the high school student and it was also the key that unlocked his powers from the depths of his psyche.

"It was already damaged when we got it." Olga glanced at Alexis with an irritated expression recalling the event between the dimension hopper and the Enforcer. She just hoped that doesn't cause any complications with their negotiations with this Minato Arisato later.

"…I know." Minato stroked the Evoker almost lovingly and sheathed Lucifer's Blade back into his Dimensional Pocket. The outer metal shell of the Summoning device could easily be replaced, while they were made of a special Kirijo created alloy, it was ultimately the same as any model gun. The Plume of Dusk on the other hand was cracked slightly and he didn't know if that would cause any complications.

"So… you do know a bit of Mage-craft then." Olga stared at the empty space with interest. She wondered what spell was used, most dimensional pockets needs some sort of anchor or even takes up a physical space like the box carved with Rune chains. Most likely it operated on a different thaumaturgical principle than Runes or Sigils. As she too was a Magus, she wanted to unveil the secret of its mystery and see her compatibility with that spell and if she could create a variation of said spell.

"I don't know if I can call it Mage-craft, but I have not researched any rituals or spells to learn this." Minato admitted freely. "Though I have a question, what happens when you time travel to a world and change its events?"

"Er… if it possesses enough energy to split, then it will create an alternate world while the original world remains with the same outcome. Why?"

"…" So, it was impossible then. He supposed that he always knew that there was known undoing his own folly. Everything was gone, everything he cherished. Everything that made up the existence known as Minato Arisato as he was now was snuffed out just as easily as the flame of a candle.

"I have no idea regarding your circumstances, but would you be interested being one of the maintainers of the Human Order?"


	3. Journey's Beginning

**Here is yet another chapter guys. **

**I'll be frank, I'm having quite a bit of trouble writing in the perspective of other characters besides Minato and that's because he's a Silent Protagonist. Gudako is a pretty energetic character in the game so it isn't Super OOC and she doesn't have a canon portrayal like male Ritsuka in First Order or the other movies.**

**So if any of you have any advice or character traits that I might not be aware of then I'll highly appreciate it in the reviews of PMs. Olga specifically but Romani and Da Vanci is quite difficult as well.**

**Speaking of Olga, I took inspiration Ahem Plagiarism from the author of Path of the King, Neoafla. I was reading it before I started writing and... it was stuck on my mind BUTT, I'd like to think that it fits with the character Olga... I hope.**

**To xhope14x: What do you mean by dragging? I'm trying to be polite as possible here but this isn't the fic to read if you expect Minato to start kicking ass in the Singularities so soon in the story. I'll try to explain my views for this story. This is the SECOND Journey for Minato and I find it quite reasonable to have Minato be a bit slow in acclimating to the Nasuverse which I'm admittedly not very versed in besides the anime and wikia. If you were lost, would you really be as composed?**

**The Pacing is not slow nor is it dragging for this is in the perspective of Minato and how he views his current situation. He isn't as quick to adapt due to becoming more social and more human from his interactions with people. if this was the beginning of the game Minato then yeah, he would have accepted Olga's offer in an instant. Now he is much more vulnerable than before, like Makoto Yuki in Persona 3 Falling Down.**

**To Magostera and Farron: Yes that is indeed a potential plot point revolving around Goetia right there.**

**Ratutz: Yes, I noticed that as well. As for Summoning... no, its not as dramatic.**

**Doortolight47: Spoilers to next chapter Im working on. Sorry got to wait like everyone else.**

* * *

"I need some time to think it over." Minato really didn't even begin to process that offer. His mind was racing hundreds of miles a minute and each individual thought formed crashed into each other preventing any coherent thoughts from forming.

He needed to be excused and to be by himself before his emotions manifest themselves in the presence of others. While he could keep a pretty impressive poker face even in the direst of situations, Minato had no desires to be around these people at the moment. They were more or less strangers and he wanted to keep his emotions under wrap.

Olga waved him off, basically signaling him to go ahead as if she was already his superior but he didn't pay it any mind.

With calm and steady steps, he left her office without another word. Time resumed when they heard the door being shut and the slow steps slowly faded away.

"Sooo… do you think he'll accept your offer?" Roman asked his boss by technicality. The apricot haired doctor noticed that blank look in the Japanese teen's face when Olga 'asked' him to be a savior of Human civilization.

It wasn't a good look, they were apathetic, without light and without life. His soul and heart was unmoved by the offer.

That scared Romani more than he likes to admit. Was what he witnessed and seen in his life was what caused that apathy towards the potential end of mankind itself or was he always this uncaring and twisted?

"I think he will… eventually." Olga flipped her hair. "It is a heavy task and giving him some time to think it over would do everyone some good." She didn't want any Master Candidate with half-baked resolve, while she had no intentions of letting that extraordinary young man go, she understood a decision like that can't be made over night.

She spent a month on the verge of a mental breakdown before she was even remotely fit inheriting her father's duties. She could barely eat from the fear and stress of the situation.

Olga Marie was a wreck when her father passed, and she figured someone with that much potential deserve the same respect as an equal.

"What happens if he refuses?" Roman asked nervously. Minato wasn't simply just a normal civilian anymore, he was no Mage, but he spent enough time in the Clock Tower to understand the Magus mindset and what was probably racing in Olga's mind.

"If he was a normal civilian or a low-bred Mage then I wouldn't have cared… do you think he was telling the truth?" She asked. "About not being a Magus, I mean?" Her Mage upbringing was hard to push down, it is in her nature to doubt everyone else's words.

"Hmmm, as a genius, I would say he was telling the truth but it's obvious he knows more than what he is claiming. Mage-craft is not the only power in this world after all." Leonardo replied. The Caster knew her words had a lot of weight to even a skeptic like Marie. While she/he had no need for a true master after she made a puppet body for the completing her 'contract'. But even so, from a first impression alone, this Minato seemed so… fascinating. She wanted to know just what makes him tick, it was her pride as a genius to find out the reason behind his melancholy.

Wasn't that the truth. That begs the question, what had Minato Arisato seen and what power and abilities does he possess? Olga Marie was busy trying to find uses for the Japanese teen beyond being a Master Candidate in the unlikely scenario he refuses.

Hmmm.

Has a Magic Core. He had Circuits, that means that he held the mutated genes that a family needed to enrich it's bloodline. The rich phantasmal or divine blood and it's properties will do nothing but bolster the strength of her bloodline. As long as it's not demonic blood of some kind, it should be suitable.

Doesn't have a particular interest in furthering Magical Research. That was one of the issues regarding the union between families, if the other partner in question had nothing to pass down besides their genetics than it erases the need to discuss which heir would study which of their two families line of research to pursue.

Doesn't possess a family Magic Crest. Her child would naturally inherit the Animusphere Crest since the Arisato Crest does not even exist.

Around the same age range as her. Give or take a few years, but no one needed to know he's technically still a minor. There's a plethora of spells to extend one's natural life span anyways. She could wait until Minato was of legal age which should be in a year or two.

Not physically unattractive. A bit on the scrawny side but she never liked tall men anyways. It always felt like they were looking down on her no matter how irrational it truly was. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she couldn't change how her mind thought. A male around her height but maybe an inch or two taller would be ideal.

Olga Marie Animusphere has no real grasp on his personality but as far as Magus's go, Minato Arisato was an ideal partner in marriage and breeding. The Eastern blood might cause some complications, but no self-respecting Mage family would blame her for not wanting such rich potential slip away from her fingers.

Not to sound like a broken record but the capabilities of that Core is too tantalizing to any Magus woman. And as a female, there was something she could offer him that others can't.

Her face reddened at her trail of thought. She was still a pretty, attractive female, Olga had never even thought of settling down until now. Physically, logically, and emotionally, there was no one she was ever interested in.

"Oh? Director, are you sick? You look a bit red." Leonardo had the biggest shit-eating grin on her/his face. Da Vinci knew EXACTLY what was going on Olga Marie's mind. He/She was a genius after all, that and her transformation into a woman with a beauty equal to her masterpiece Mona Lisa only bolstered her understanding of females.

"I-I feel fine, Caster." She responded a bit too quickly. They must never know. Especially that loose lipped Romani, that man was terrible at keeping secrets or was too lazy to make an effort to. His very presence had the potential of making her life a living hell, him just being around her subordinates made them slack off.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Da Vinci asked a bit too cheekily. Being around a tsun as the Japanese would call them like the Director was just too much fun to pass up in the Servant's opinion. As a Servant, Da Vinci was well aware of her position within Chaldea. She was irreplaceable as the third summon attempt and as of right now, the only battle-ready Servant on hand.

"Yes!" She almost snapped. The white-haired Mage knew what Da Vinci was trying to insinuate, and she was not appreciating even a lick of it. Why is everyone around her so annoying?

"Huh, are you sure you're not infatuated with our resident blue?" Romani asked without thinking and thus without even a shred of tack. He supposed Minato was good looking… though his hair was too similar to Mash's in his opinion. How do they see if they cover their right eyes?

"Shut up Shut up Shut UP!" Olga quickly ended that line of conversation. Damn that Romani. Why did her father hire him!? He caused problems for her just by existing. If he wasn't her father's friend, she would have fired the man a long time ago.

And did he have to say that right in front of all of her bodyguards too!? She was contemplating it before but she was certain now, Olga will have a special punishment in store for Romani once she found out what was suitable for that constantly blundering buffoon.

* * *

Saving humanity?

What a joke that was. Minato felt that the offer was akin to a slap on the face considering what he just gone through. He clenched his firsts hidden by his pant pockets, if he was strong and determined enough to have saved the world in the first place, he wouldn't even be here.

And now he was offered another shot at it.

Even if he did have the strength, the will and the abilities to be this world's savior, it wouldn't change anything. Nothing would ever make him complete ever again, nothing would change the fact that Minato Arisato was nothing more than a failure.

The blood of seven billion people stained his hands, directly or indirectly. He could spend the rest of his existence, dedicating it to the cause of uplifting humanity and it still wouldn't be enough. There are some mistakes that simply cannot be atoned for.

The Fool used to foolishly believe that everyone deserved a second chance regardless of crime but now. He didn't think so now.

Saving the world?

Ridiculous was all he thought as the response to Olga Marie. He could not save his world; how arrogant he was thinking that he could save another one this time.

These hands of his are not fit to save ANYTHING much less the world. Minato reached the window sill that showed the snow fall of the outside and he just stared and stared at the background listlessly. The look in his silver eyes were as lifeless as the cold harsh artic.

He leaned on the window sill with his elbows and simply stayed there reflecting at all the events that happened in his life.

Who he was before his parent's untimely demise was forgotten. No matter how hard he tried to recall, the Minato Arisato of that time died alongside his parents. It was as if that part of his history was erased and replaced with a new personality altogether.

This new individual that took the place of the old Minato lived with his relatives for a school year before being tossed out like garbage. Going back and forth between the United States and Japan, because of his dual citizenship, the Persona User was fluent in both languages.

Looking back at his life, Minato Arisato simply existed. The Fool drifted alongside the flow of time never truly living until ten years after the event with Death and Aigis which claimed his parent's lives.

He could have died and neither he nor anyone else would have cared.

Then he met them. He met SEES. It was sad to say but this man only truly lived one year as a person. He wasted his life and lost his future when he was defeated.

Was there any meaning to the person known as Minato Arisato now? He was even more worthless than the scum on one's boots.

He'll fail again, that is what will happen. He'll try to save this world and will be defeated again, if not by Nyx then by another threat.

He pulled his Evoker out of his pant pockets and grimaced at its ruined state, it represented his greatest failing and yet it was also his greatest pride. The Vessel of Death stroked the barrel gently as if it was a new-born child rather than a tool.

"**GRRRRRRRRRR."** Thanatos growled lightly in the Sea of his Soul reacting to his master's emotional state and tried to comfort him but to no avail. The God of Death hated all life except his master, and it couldn't bear the despair his lord was in, but it knew that it couldn't change his master's mind.

Minato appreciated the sentimentality, but comfort was the last thing he deserved.

He deserved to be punished for his own failings, for his sins. That was what Thanatos and the other Personas don't seem to understand. It was his fault that Nyx destroyed his world, it was his own fault when all of his comrades perished despite giving him all their hopes and power.

The Fool could sense them now. He could sense the powers he gotten from his comrades more clearly due to the fact that he wasn't in pain. Unlike other Persona Users, Minato could not feel the presence of his Personas within him without focusing on them. Besides his Orpheus his first, Thanatos the ultimate manifestation of the powers he inherited from Death, and Messiah his newest addition to the Sea of His Soul.

He could feel the strength of the ambitious Caesar.

He could feel the raging passion of Trismegistus.

He could feel the quiet protective nature of Pallas Athena.

He could feel the resolution of Artemisia.

He could feel the maddening love of Isis.

He could feel will of guardian Cerberus.

He could feel the oh so easily forgotten guiding spirit of Juno.

He could feel the look out of the Older Sibling Castor.

He could feel the grown wisdom of Kala-Nemi.

They weren't mad at him; they weren't mad at being bonded to the man that caused their true masters' deaths.

That made Minato feel even worse somehow.

Why?

How?

They should be insulted and outraged if being bonded to man oh so unworthy of them. The man that failed their masters, but he knew why they aren't angered at him.

It was because that they couldn't. if these Personas were truly the manifestation of his comrades' resolution of heart and faith of him then they couldn't ever hate him truly.

That was why it made him feel even more lowly.

This… confirmation that SEES didn't blame him for losing that final battle was something that warmed his heart and despite that, his heart couldn't bear it.

He was unworthy of their love, unworthy of their faith, unworthy of their respect, unworthy of even being remembered. They were better off never ever meeting him, someone else other than him would have been strong, stronger than him and strong enough to achieve victory.

He placed a hand on to his heart and squeezed gently before setting that limb down.

Why was he alive while everyone around him paid the price? They who valued their life, who had a future worth pursuing and an attachment to the world.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. They should live, if he could sacrifice his existence for theirs to continue, he would exchange his in a heartbeat. That was how much he valued their existence over his.

But it was far too late to be speaking of hypotheticals.

"Fou Fou!"

Minato stroked the dog cat squirrel thing absentmindedly with his free hand. "I'm still not giving you any snacks." The white fluffy adorable creature did manage to cheer him up a bit, just a tiny smidge… until it bit him on the pinky again.

"Fou Fou Fou!" Give me my snacks bitch! Fou was hungry and Fou wanted food. The Human woman Mash stopped giving him extra fearing that she was over feeding him. Foolish, Fou does not get overweight.

"…ouch." Minato wrenched his pinky out of the white creature's mouth ignoring the needle like stinging sensation those sharp teeth made. The Japanese teen was certain the creature named Fou said something incredibly rude, he could just SENSE it.

And like before, the teeth did not manage to puncture his skin due to the dog thing not seriously wishing harm on the blue haired teen and Minato's skin becoming slightly more durable as if his whole body was forming callouses despite feeling and looking smooth as a baby's bottom.

That was seriously getting old for the Fool. He thought that he was rather good with animals, Koromaru and the various cats he fed at the back alleys would have agreed with that statement.

"…Oh, how did the meeting with the director go, Minato… Senpai?" A familiar soft voice was heard by his side. "Is the snow that pretty for you?" Mash asked, she grew up here in Chaldea's base where it constantly snowed so it was just normal for her.

"It was… enlightening, I suppose." Minato breathed out of his nose calmly. "She wanted me to become a Master Candidate if I meet the requirements… but I am not… sure." He struggled to get the words out, why was someone like him deserving over the seven billion people more worth of life than he ever was?

"And as for the snow, yes I've come to love its cold embrace. The Summer is too vibrant and overwhelming to someone like me."

His father's side of the family had been living in Seattle since the 1880s when the Chinese Exclusion act came into practice. His Father's family decided to leave Japan for some reason and settle in America. It rarely snowed there, even in winter the snow was non-existent. It was more likely to rain than anything else.

Snow was beautiful and pure.

"I believe you can do it Minato Senpai." Mash replied. "If someone like me was offered a chance at being a Master then I believe that you can too." Her body might be on par with even the best crafted Homunculus in terms of Prana production, but she was physically weak to the point that she couldn't perform a single sit up.

Minato Senpai looked strong and dependable; she was sure of it. Experimentally she squeezed the bicep of the arm that Minato was leaning on the window sill. It was rock solid; she couldn't even make the mass of muscle budge a single bit.

Mash recognizes that she wasn't an example of what would call the ideal female level of strength, but she found his body to be impressive. Minato Senpai might look scrawny but underneath his clothes was a physique worthy of being chiseled into stone like an ancient Greek statue. A bit of flush rushed to her face when she realize just how bold she was acting and quickly retracted her hand from his… well-trained body.

Luckily for the designer child, Minato didn't even pay that physical contact any mind. He was too worldly with the experiences of the female body to even be flustered by the physical contact. The only real time he was flustered was perhaps with the situation regarding Elizabeth's final visit to the real world.

"Senpai, Why do you call me that?" The Fool asked glancing at the lilac haired girl. He was neither part of Chaldea nor her senior in anything. He was pretty sure he was a year older than her too.

"Well… I have faith you'll deciding to stay here, to be a Master. And to me you feel, human. That's why I call you Senpai." She answered earnestly.

"Human you say?" Minato sounded genuinely perplexed at that remark. How was he human to the girl? He was a man who absorbed the power and divinity of Death, gained this… Magic Core that everyone kept spieling about, and became something more than human by gaining the power of the Universe.

How could he possibly feel Human to Mash? Physically or spiritually, he doubted being, but a mere man was possible for him now. He was more than human now… and perhaps, something even less.

"Yes, Senpai. You are Human to me." Mash smiled at him. Compared to all the Mages here, Olga and Da Vinci, Minato Senpai is indeed very Human in comparison. His quiet personality aside, he felt very Human to the girl and perhaps she could learn what being a Human is in turn being around him.

"I see, whether or not I'm worthy of contracting these Heroic Spirits is another question entirely." The Fool liked her smile. It was a pure smile like the freshly bloomed Sakura flowers in the spring.

How could he a failure of the highest order ever hope of standing amongst these Servants, copies of the greatest Human Heroes across time and space? Just like his views on inheriting the Personas of his comrades and truest friends, he was less than the scum scrapped off their boots.

"If you're not worthy then neither am I. Take some time to think about it, it is your choice." Mash picked Fou up and carried him underneath her bosom. "Though I'll be relieved with one decision over the other."

***CRACK***

**I am Thou and Thou art I**

**In addition to the existing possibilities **

**Thou Shalt be blessed with Elpis, the hope that burns within Hearth.**

He blinked in surprise; he had already completed his Social Links. Then again, an Arcana was never denoted but even so he felt a wave of power rush through his system just like the power of a Social Link. For a brief moment, his very soul seemed to be at peace and felt genuine relief.

"Fou Fou Fou!" I got your back boi!

Mash let out a tiny amused laugh. "He said, 'he'll take care of you so don't worry about it!' Senpai."

And here he was operating under the assumption that the little guy didn't like him. Maybe the dog thing wasn't so bad… if only he could get him to stop biting his pinky. Seriously, why is it always the pinky?

* * *

Shiori Emiya was staying at her Aunt's house in Miyama town. She loved her aunt Sakura and she seemed much happier after leaving the Matou House years ago.

"Wow! This is great Onee-San, this might be better than Papa's cooking!" Shiori ate the curry with great relish. "…Don't tell Papa I said that though." She paled at the thought of her father finding out and hurting his feelings. Strangely enough, it was not archery or his swordsmanship that he takes pride him but his cleaning and cooking… her father should quit freelancing and become a house husband already.

Gudako called Sakura Onee-San instead of the Oba-san which is the proper way to refer to an aunt due to Sakura only being thirty-three. Oba-san had the connotation for a woman being over forty and she refused to call her aunt Sakura old! She was still a pretty young thing!

Her father was a fool for not noticing her aunt's affections for him… though Shiori would probably not have been born if her father noticed Sakura's beauty.

Her aunt was STACKED. Shiori, if she were to be completely honest will admit that she was slightly jealous of Sakura's bust size. Auntie's thigh game was on par with her mother and Shiori herself so there was nothing that they had to compensate against Sakura's looks.

"You're always welcomed here Shiori Chan," She had the same gentle pleasant look as she always had. Shiori was like the daughter she always wished she had. "Where's Ritsuka Kun?"

He too was a child of her Senpai but Shiori was her favorite. Whether it was due to her being a fellow female or because she looked so much like her father. Or rather what her father used to look that before he overtaxed his Circuits and gained bleached bone white hair, tanned skin and dark eyes. She preferred his old look but Senpai was still her Senpai.

Unlike Ritsuka Kun, she had no real interest in researching Mage-craft and because of that the precious child came to her home every so often. Not that she minded the company, not many people visited the plum haired woman besides Shirou in a blue moon and Taiga near daily to eat some of her meals she cooked.

She knew how her older sister were at times, research is what gives her life meaning. It wasn't something that she understood; she didn't have issues with Mage-craft, but she wasn't interested in the matter beyond the practical aspects of the spells.

The only time she actively sought to learn a spell was the Alteration spell that Shirou Senpai taught her when she broke a plate or two.

She prayed for his soul despite not being religious, that was all she could do for him due to not being interested in that side of the world. The mundane everyday life was where her home was but the same can't be said for her Senpai or her sister.

"Ugh, my idiot brother unknowingly agreed to a date with that smug Shiniko girl." She groaned. "Like, how can a man be THAT dense?" Gudako wished she kept her mouth shut, considering her aunt's and her father's circumstances.

The red head could have sworn a dark aura manifested with her aunt's glassy smile. She scared Gudako at times, more than her mother and her father scolding her combined and multiplied by cancer.

"…Oh, is that so?" The gentle smile that the plumb haired woman had made Shiori's hair on her arms stand up. "Then I'll simply have to… speak with Ritsuka Kun when he comes over."

…Why did it feel like she doomed her brother to a fate worse than selling one's soul to Actually Satan?

Ritsuka sneezed. Strange, he felt the back of his neck break into a cold sweat. That wasn't a good sign.

"Ha, ha ha." Shiori laughed nervously playing with her hair. "Y-you don't mind if I stay here for the weekend right? Mama's doing her ritual or whatever and… you know how she is at times."

As scary and terrifying as her aunt was at times, at least Gudako was safe from her… outbursts.

"Your room is just as I left it." Sakura's smile changed to its usual non-terrifying form and that dark aura seemed to have disappeared. She'll have to support Shiniko Chan from the shadows at this rate if Ritsuka Kun was the one the blue haired girl was pining over. That boy was as dense as his father at times and Sakura will make sure Shiniko will get her happy ending.

She never truly hated Shinji despite the injustices he had committed against her just as she learned hating Zouken was a futile effort and a waste of energy. Though she would rather not be around him any more than necessary. The plum haired woman acknowledged that her adopted brother had changed since the Grail War for some reason. While he wasn't kind to her, he stopped mistreating her.

Now that she had the freedom, free from her grandfather and free from having to interact with her Shinji, Sakura was content being that anchor for all of her nieces and nephew.

She had spent enough time wallowing in despair when she realized her Senpai was snatched away from her by her older sister Rin right from under her nose. There were times she wanted to hate her sister, but Sakura was never able to. Envied and jealousy definitely but never truly hated to the point of wanting retribution.

"Oh Shiori Chan?" She called out to her adorable niece. "I got you a present under your bed." She had it for two weeks now, she intended it for her red headed niece's birthday next month, but she couldn't help but spoil her favorite. She'll just have to find something else for her birthday when she'll go out shopping.

Gudako's eyes lit up like the precious child that she was. "Really?! I love you so much!" She thanked Sakura before rushing up the stairs and opened the door of her room without breaking the drywall this time.

She loved beds, as much as she loved to spend time with her father, the futon and Japanese style house always were… uncomfortable with her. She only pretended not to get a stiff back to not hurt his feelings… just like how Sakura might have surpassed him in the kitchen. Her father was a fool, Sakura is best house wife material… may be her mother would be more forgiving with an affair if she slipped them a bit more drinks.

Gudako always questioned her mother's sexuality and whether she was bisexual or not. Half the time Rin Tohsaka spent complaining about this cow udder blonde Finnish bombshell of a woman named Luvia Edelfelt. One thing was for sure, if Sakura Onee-san was unable to have her father's attention then neither will this thot.

Gudako swore in the Tohsaka and Emiya name. She also swore to God and the Root for good measure. The red head was thinking if creating a religion for mages surrounding the mystery of the Root one of these days. Shiori just KNEW that this new religion will catch on in the future, she was sure of it!

The high schooler looked under and saw a rather oddly shaped wrapped present. Without a second though, the teenaged girl ripped the delicately wrapped art off of her prize and marveled at what her best aunt got her.

It was just what she wanted! It was a bow, made from the same material as her father's. A western style recurve bow with a matt-black finish with a thicker grip to prevent cracking and damage. It was almost comical for her wielding a bow almost the same size as her but nothing like a casual Reinforcement to her limbs to pull this giant monstrosity.

It was just in time as well, Gudako has been playing around with jewel tipped arrows for Mystic Codes. She got inspired watching videos of southern Americans making arrow tips of glass through primitive flint napping and decided to give it a shot.

The red headed girl… for a lack of a better word was luckier than her mother. Nothing spontaneously exploded, no sudden fires, and definitely not forgetting an important aspect of a ritual until it's too late.

She also inherited her father's skill with her hands. Shiori had rather not girlish hobbies like making knives and arrowheads in her spare time in her backyard. She liked kendo, she liked fencing, archery, track and field and unarmed combat.

Not to say she didn't like shopping, but she didn't like putting on too much make-up like a face clown nor did she didn't prefer going to the spa over what she did on her spare time. she also liked cleaning since it helps her relax but she'll never admit that out loud. The last time she did a whole bunch of middle aged business men asked her to marry them despite being fourteen.

Sakura was the best! If that dumb Wakame (seaweed head) Shinji Matou yells at her in public again after getting a few too many drinks, Gudako will kick him in the nuts…again. That guy was a creep, she hated him especially after he drunkenly groped her after calling her Shirou.

She hugged the bow tightly before setting it down and jumping on her bed. Shiori needed to get something nice for her aunt for her birthday too. Maybe a gift basket or wine… maybe a gift basket with wine?

Though Shiori would prefer something more permanent than food or wine. Hmmmm, it's going to take a bit more thought than she thought. Her aunt was a simpler yet more complex in personality than her mother.

Ohh! Maybe she should craft Sakura a whole new knife set for her kitchen; they don't make them as they used to anymore since those companies started a new mass production method. Perhaps Shiori should get some S30V type steel and use a bit of Reinforcement and some runes of hardening to make those blades nigh indestructible and retain their sharpness for pretty much forever.

Now that sounded like a plan! She was secretly a genius.

The high schooler went to sleep with a smile on her face. This is why she's Sakura's favorite, her dumb brother Ritsuka would never put that much thought in gifts before.

And Shiniko Matou was a massive bitch. Ok, now she went to sleep peacefully. If only she knew her fate after this week.

* * *

Minato knew what choice he'll make, there was never any choice to begin with. His world was GONE. Gone, there was nothing for him to go back to if he even was capable of going back. He never learned how to cross universe or time and even if he did, all that would do was create an alternate timeline of Romani's words could be trusted.

He gave the doctor, the benefit of the doubt since he had no knowledge of the Fool's world's fate. There was no reason to lie to the Persona User when there was no context to his question, and it was a near instantaneous response as well.

No matter how similar the alternate world that is created, it would never change the fact that it wasn't his world. It wouldn't have his Junpei, his Yukari, his Akihiko, his Mitsuru, his Fuuka, His Aigis, his Koromaru, his Shinjiro, his Ken, or any of his friends.

It's a fake, a façade, as much despair Minato was currently in, his pride would never allow him to live in an illusion.

He must live with his life choices, that was what the Velvet Room contract stated, and he agreed to those terms. It doesn't matter that he was in a different reality now, a contract was a contract.

He wasn't becoming a Master for redemption or anything of the sort, his personal failings will always be his failings and it shall never be atoned for. The blue haired teen realized that the moment he realized the fate of his world. His hands would never be washed clean of the blood of seven billion people. That was his innocent sin and being alone in his sorrow shall be his eternal punishment.

Even if it wasn't by his hands directly, it was still his loss that killed them. That was why he didn't want to stand amongst those Servant being as they called them. They were copies of Heroes, the champions of Humanity and he was some random nobody that happened to stumble into the Dark hour and picked up a sword. He couldn't be compared to beings that granted hope and salvation in their respective eras.

But even so, if he was one of the people capable of being a Master, capable of this Rayshifting then… he'll lend them a hand. He wasn't confident but he wasn't going to be the only Master out there, there's Mash and all the other Candidates that the United Nations will scour the world for.

To maintain Human Order and history as the director called it, it was honestly insane to the blue haired Fool. Sure, he was well aware of the fact that space and time was not as nearly as constant due to his exposure to the collective unconscious, the Velvet Room and the Dark Hour but he never done anything as maddening as going back to the past.

It sounded like an interesting experience and the Fool would be lying if he wasn't even the slightest bit interested in seeing history in the process. But was he strong enough? Without his Evoker, he couldn't summon his Personas and he wasn't confident in using the Universe Arcana again.

The power of the ultimate end and a new beginning. The power of creation and the lack thereof, destruction through deletion and non-existence. It wasn't a power that Minato was confident in using after the whole fiasco with Nyx's change in the potency and nature of her attacks, his soul was damaged, filled with tiny hair line cracks that could spiderweb and fracture with too much strain.

He placed his hand on his heart and grimaced, this pain wasn't unbearable, but it was something he had to live with for the time being. The power of the Universe was being used to heal those tiny but noticeable cracks, but it was… slow. That was a mere fraction of the power of infinite possibilities, but he wasn't willing to use his powers beyond that at the moment.

He instinctively knew it would be… dangerous to use that power when he was in this damaged state. Minato also noticed that the power of the Universe Arcana was being self-automatic, the power was moving on its own will and is not limited by his will.

Was this the what Romani meant by his self-healing abilities? Likely possible but Minato had no way of verifying if that was the case. It could be that Spring of Life ability that Junpei inherited from Chidori and her Persona Medea now that he was aware that he had that skill now, but it wasn't all that important at the moment. Knowing that he could heal fast is more important than knowing the source of the ability. Shaking that thought out of his head, Minato balled his fists and placed them in his pant pockets. He missed his blazer, but beggars can't be choosers.

The Persona User walked back to Olga's office and knocked on the door. "It's me." He had to give the director his response, he couldn't in good faith stay in her facilities without offering something in return.

"Come in." Marie's voice gave him the confirmation for him to enter. And so, he did. Wallowing in self-pity won't go anywhere, to live he needed to move forward one step at a time. he didn't know how to exactly 'move forward' and not feel like he was running away from his short-comings but at least he'll try.

"So, what's your decision?" Olga laced her fingers together keeping her amber-citrine eyes focused on his frame. She asked the question out of formalities, the fact that the possessor of the Magic Core chose to comeback with that serious expression on his face told her his decision long before she even opened her mouth.

He noticed that her face was a bit flush for some reason but decided not to mention it. He had hung around other woman long enough to know that questioning her reddened complexion was not a WISE thing to do as a man. That and the snickering strangely clad woman with the staff and gigantic gauntlets told him not to touch that conversation with a ten-foot pole.

"If you believe me to be of use then the answer if yes," Minato clenched his fists in his pockets to the point that he could feel his nails digging harshly on the palms of his hands, to the point of drawing some blood. "I'll agree on the condition of being taught in the ways of this Mage-craft you all keep mentioning about."

"Oh… I believe we can arrange that." Olga smirked. They at Chaldea had more than a few talented staff they can spare for the time being. Things were looking good for the white-haired woman right now.

* * *

**Yeah, hopefully the Pseudo Social Links aren't too much of an asspull. But I felt that since Minato's powers are... adjusting to this new world it has the ability to grow further than before. I'd based it off of the FATE system in Devil Survivor 2 and found the name to be rather fitting.**

**As for the Ultimate Personas of SEES, I'd just wanted to give Minato a final memento since his Evoker is trashed, even should he recreate it, the new one will only be a replica of the real deal.**


	4. Fool to the Magi

**I am not very... satisfied with this chapter and I'm the one writing it. I should probably revise this more but I feel like this is going to be near as good as it gets. These exposition chapters are difficult to write and make it interesting IMO. So if there's a drop in quality in this chapter and the next one, please bear with it and not roast me tooo much.**

**Dxhologram: yes, good catch. Though it's Death and not Thanatos that's the source of his Magic/Divine core. I felt that Minato simply accepting the offer would be OOC DESPITE that's what happened when he joined SEES by request.**

**Doortolight47: Minato will interact will Greek Servants so don't worry about that.**

**Farron: Thank you.**

**VGBlackwing: ...Honestly, do you have a hate boner for Minato? I get that most stories end up making Japanese Jesus insanely powerful but damn, this is the second review you left about Persona Power levels.**

**Kagerou: Thank you for the lore tidbit.**

**Gen2324: I'm looking forward to Gudako meeting Minato as well. Them Protags look nice together.**

**Lorenzo: Cool lore, very interesting.**

**Magostera: yeah, it was hard to find a fitting theme for Mash that also happened to be a Persona so I'm glad you liked it.**

**TheWillofSon: Good question. His Origin will be something that's for sure. He could probably kick their ass right now.**

**Flitterflux: If it felt very brooding and repetitive... that's the point. Dude, Minato literally lost his world and that thought will float in the back of his mind one form or another. Depression is a bitch to deal with.**

* * *

Rayshifting, the act of sending the user's very existence to another era albeit twisted and distorted from history through the process of "Psuedo-Spiritron" dismantlement. The device that allows this Rayshift to occur is ironically called a Coffin, this Coffin analyzes and calculates the body of the Master Candidate, the history of the Master, and its relation to the laws of causality.

Once confirmed, the device will use an imaginary formula to hold the projection of the Master Candidate in place of the era he was sent to. This formula also blocks the Counter Force of that from affecting their Phantasmal existence due to Alaya picking up their projected soul as wrong and unnatural and thus a constant observer is needed to observe the subject and prevent them from being recognized by the World as part of the Human Domain.

This was honestly mumbo jumbo to the Fool, and this was the man that saw the schematics of Kouetsu Kirijo's time machine to rewrite the world. The closest thing he could compare this Coffin device to be similar to the coffins that Transmogrify ordinary humans in the Dark Hour where their very existence and time would be frozen by the effects of Transmogrification. One could say what Chaldea has created was a more advanced artificial version of what the Dark Hour did naturally.

From what he could understand was that Spiritrons were the substance of the soul and Psuedo-Spiritrons are the equivalent found through Magical theories merged with the assistance of modern science. They were something similar yet different to Spiritrons and to not be used interchangeably.

The Coffins work under the analogy of Schrodinger's cat and makes the Master Candidate's state "unknown" to the World and despite being projections, the body being Rayshifted is just as real as the body inside the Coffins.

The Persona User simply rationalized it as being summoned in reverse, instead of being called to the realm, the Master Candidate is forcibly sent towards the opposing realm.

He wasn't claustrophobic by any means, but he didn't like being crammed into a metal box. Since he wasn't being sent to this Singularity F, there was no need to cut his consciousness temporarily and reverse summon him to Fuyuki City in 2004.

All that was needed to determine whether or not he had the Spiritrons needed to Rayshift successfully or not. Still, that blue glow of the machine and the monotonous female recorded voice that was constantly playing in the background made the time felt like it was dragging into hours while in reality, only fifteen minutes at best was passed.

"**Have some patience, my lord."** Messiah's voice resounded in his mind. **"Tis but confirmation, regardless of the results, there shall be use of you, I assure Thee." **The Persona sounded a bit tired for some reason.

He wished he shared his Persona's enthusiasm. If there was no use for him then he's technically one of those free-loaders to Olga Marie and he doubted she keeps those around. He knew too much of the world now, this type of knowledge isn't given for free. In a sense, he was more or less indebted to her beyond simply being covered for his medical bills.

As impatient as his mind was, there was nothing he could do to ease his concerns.

If only he could have listened to his MP3 player to pass the time, but he lost the device from Nyx's spell that kept him company over a decade. It wasn't exactly what he referred to as precious to him, but he would be lying if he wasn't fond of it.

There were many times he could have replaced it with one of those fancy iPods with the touch screen, but he never did so. Now that the Fool thought about it, this world was in the year 2015 which was five years beyond his world which was just shy of reaching 2010.

The Persona User wondered just how far technology had advanced, the first touch screen devices were but a year or two old in his world and wasn't common place but here, it was strange to have a flip phone like his. He wondered how these Heroic Spirits would react to how the world has changed since their respective eras. If he was amazed at the transitions between flip and smart phones, then Minato also wondered their shock seeing electricity and toilets.

He also didn't want to consider Chaldea's technology level as a standard due to the fact that most if not all their equipment makes use of Magical theories that the regular world had no hopes of replicating. Just like he didn't consider the technology level of the Kirijo's which made Aigis and the rest of the ASWs to be the standard of his world either.

All in all, Minato was not looking forward to learning Mage-craft despite gaining an inkling of interest in the skill. After conversing with his multiple Personas, it was decided that it would be within his best interests to not rely on them as of the current circumstances.

Not only is it dangerous to push his less than pristine soul as of current, the strength of the more powerful Personas like Lucifer, Michael and Satan simply drained too much out of him and the Persona User felt that it was better safe than sorry than to risk his soul as it is.

The second reason is… that his powers simply wont work the same way that it has in his old world. Just like the fact that this Alaya most likely didn't exist in his world at least didn't exist in the form it existed here was enough of an indication to wait in summoning a Persona.

Personas took form based on the User's heart, just like the real Orpheus didn't look like a head using a robotic doll-like body. the Generic Personas that represented by the Arcana were based on the collective unconscious. Now that he's in a new universe, the collective unconscious and this Throne of Heroes of this world would have an influence in how his Personas would appear and what abilities they would have as well.

It would be foolish to interrupt the process that his abilities are currently undergoing. His power is changing, acclimating to this world while attempting to retain the abilities of his world's collective unconscious. Waiting a short amount of time for the full acclimation process was but a small price to pay and he had to heal his soul anyways, so it works out. It gave him an ample time to learn the more practical aspects of Mage-craft as well.

He and his powers were akin to a fish being added to a new lake; the waters they were now in had different qualities than they're old ones. To use his powers in the middle of adjustment is akin to using a sword in the middle of heat-treatment or eating a half-baked meal. It was just simply not worth wielding as of current.

* * *

**Spiritrons levels sufficient, Mash Kyrielight and Minato Arisato are now registered as Master Candidates. Class A recommended.**

Romani sighed in relief, so… the negotiations were not for nothing. Granted Minato would have been utilized in one form or another due to his unusual properties of his body, but he felt particularly relieved at Mash's Spiritron levels being as high as it was. He was never that worried about her qualifications for Rayshifting, she was made with a similar method Atlas made their Homonculus with Psuedo-Spiritrons to create her Magic Circuits.

Olga Marie Animusphere would simply have even more reason to keep that lilac haired child around beyond simply the unspeakable acts that her father Marisburry had done to the designer child.

The doctor reflexively wiped the sweat off his brow, he honestly had mixed emotions about this news. Mash wasn't his daughter, but he had been her primary physician for six years now and the fluffy haired head of the medical department had watched her grow into the fine young woman that she is today.

And now she'll be in the frontlines fighting against all that threatened the Human Order. Her body was built for that, no matter what the quality of her Magic Circuits was, Mash was physically unfit even compared to normal humans who never even exercised a day in their lives.

"Director, shall we commence the virtual simulation training grounds?" One of the staff members asked Olga. She studied the data of the two teenagers once more just to be sure the information was true.

The director thought about the matter. "No, considering… her body and Minato Arisato's lack of knowledge regarding the Magical Arts, it would be a waste of time as of current." The head of the Animusphere family grimaced thinking of Mash but refused to allow her bias to taint her judgement.

She had contemplated simply agreeing with the idea of going through with the training simulation to gauge Minato's other abilities they speculated he possessed. The fact that he survived the crossing of dimensions in one piece despite being launched with enough force to dent the Reinforced alloys that made the floors of her facilities. The other ability was his dimensional pocket that he stored his sword and gun that he used right in front of her and her staff.

Her curiosity would simply have to wait. And believe her, she was beyond simply slightly curious of that matter.

"Leonardo, you are to instruct him of the ways of a Mage," Olga placed her arms on her waist in akimbo. "No games and this assignment is not to be for amusement. Take this request seriously as how you perform will affect the funding regarding your workshop."

No matter how unorthodox Leonardo Da Vinci was and how he/she regards Mage-craft, the Caster class Servant was still a researcher at heart. Such a threat was not to be taken likely. That and the Mages that were worth their salt take their blood's purity and richness far too seriously to truly teach Minato Arisato even the basics of Thaumaturgy. There are always exceptions to the rule like the Wizard Marshal but the Animuspheres even if she was the head had either no connections to them or had nothing, they would be willing to offer to instruct an oriental not affiliated with them.

"This will cut into my inventions but fine," The Servant sighed twirling her staff in her hands. "It has been a while since I have taken a pupil or two. This boy will prove… interesting to say the least." The Artist didn't protest with too much fervor, he wondered if Minato would allow him/her to make a painting of him nude. The naked body was something of a passing interest to the genius.

"Leonardo," Romani said in a warning tone. "No." He knew the Inventor fairly well, while he didn't know what exactly went through that mind of her/his, but the apricot haired physician had a general idea of what that face meant.

Romani and the world knew Leonardo Da Vinci was fascinated in the anatomy, skeletal structure of the Human body in the era where the opening up of the human body was frowned upon. That was just how wild her fascination and drive and thirst for knowledge was.

She let out an amused smirk. Poor Roman, when she wanted something, she'll find a way to obtain it no matter the time and cost. He and she supposed Minato was lucky that it was simply only a passing interest to the Caster class Servant. She'll play along for the time being, but the Caster had heard of the unique properties of Minato Arisato's body.

Her curiosity was a powerful force on her, how long it she could keep it under wraps is up for anyone's guess. Still… Romani shouldn't throw a fit is she got Minato's permission in… payment for her lessons, right? Such a small matter is really nothing compared to what knowledge she will impart upon the blue haired young man right?

* * *

Minato Arisato heard the slight hiss of the Coffin; he took that cue for him to leave the device and savoring the fresher air of the command room. With a casual stretch, the Fool cracked the bones of his body relieving the stiffness and rigidness.

Finally, that was now over. It wasn't completely unbearable due to the words of his Personas but that wasn't something he wanted to get used to. Thank whatever higher powers are up there that the body within the Coffin has its consciousness copied and projected while the consciousness within the magical device is blocked so the blue haired Fool doesn't have to endure the effects of the Coffin all too much.

Speaking of the Coffins, Minato turned his head to glance on the second Coffin that gave out its own hiss indicating the release of the individual inside it. Mash didn't seem to take the stiffness as well either.

So, she was capable of becoming a Master Candidate as well? That was good, he didn't trust the world's weight to be shouldered by his hands alone. Though he was curious about one thing, is the Potential of holding enough Spiritrons similar to holding the Potential as a Persona User?

While it was ultimately a power foreign to this world, Persona was still a power from the soul and it's weight. Did it have any impact on his Spiritron count? Did his Potential as a Persona User translated and added to his Potential as a Master Candidate, Spiritrons was a substance of the soul after all.

"Congratulations Senpai," Mash said walking over to him. "Looks like you'll be a Master after all." She was happy for the results; it would be nice to have someone else to rely on in Singularity F. She had Da Vinci make a crude map for her with all the known landmarks just in case communications with Chaldea was faulty.

She realized that that was a bit hasty seeing that they only just now gotten the confirmation as capable Rayshifters but still, it doesn't help to be prepared.

"Hmm," Minato simply nodded in reply. He still had mixed feelings regarding this whole Master situation beyond his shattered sense of self-worse. He was back in SEES, just a field commander. All he did was have the ability to make decisions and lead people for an hour at most a day, most if not all the real decisions were made by Mitsuru and her father Takeharu Kirijo behind the scenes.

Granted he will still be receiving general commands from Chaldea and the Director Olga Marie, but ultimately, he will be the one who has authority over the Servants, Heroic Servants that changed the world and the people who continued to utter their names over centuries to come.

"**Heh, I shall assist you in matters like these Fool."** Caesar said in a tone filled with confidence. **"I have been a general for almost as long as you've been walking on this Earth."**

That… was reassuring he supposed, the Roman Leader was the one who commanded the legions and was beloved by the lower-class people of the Roman Empire. They were enraged by his death and started fires in his name. They loved the general so much that they immediately took to his adopted son Octavian the first emperor of Rome.

Then again… even if this Persona was changing in relation to the world, he was still a manifestation of Akihiko's mind and soul… better not mention the words beef or protein around this man again. Heck, even the words like training and dating advice books should be banned.

"**I heard that."** He was mildly offended. What was any man without any training of armed combat? A man with a poor physique with barely any muscles was no man at all. Beef was a good and food in general was good, back in the days a man with food was an indicator of wealth.

* * *

Gudako left her aunt's house early in the morning, even before the sun went up and it was a bit chilly, so she brought a bright red sweater. Unlike her mother she was actually a morning person. The teenaged Magus was also luckier as well… to the point that she made a note to not bring Rin to any Casinos she snuck in with hypnosis Mage-craft. Her mother's bad luck was enough to lose not only their earnings but one Debit Card account she had. It was THAT bad.

Shiori made an order for the steel she will use to make Sakura's knife set as well as the wood. They were to be shipped to the supply store she frequented regularly which she knew the owner in a personal manner within four days. That meant after the weekends, so she'll have to pick them up after a school day, not that annoying on its own but school work gets in the way of time. homework deserves to burn in the deepest fires of hell for their existence is meant only to take time away from students.

While most of her money came from… other sources, she did have a part time job at a café nearby Miyama Town. Shirou was friends with the sister of the owner and with his connections, she got hired. Shiori was also certain that the sister of the owner had a one-sided infatuation with her father as well.

Money was so easy to spend and hard to save that it wasn't even funny, she sympathized with her mother in that regard, but that sympathy ended when Rin bought more gems than she should have trying to compete with that blonde bimbo she kept going on and on about. The seventh and current head of the Tohsaka clan should learn and deal with the consequences but it had been going on for almost twenty years so the red headed daughter doubted that will ever be the case.

Shiori tended to save some of the scrap materials using Alteration, a spell that her father invented and used frequently to meld and kneed metal, wood and gem shavings back together in one piece. A lot of materials tended to be wasted in the pursuit of making quality Mystic Codes that the red headed girl sought to learn of methods to conserve costs. It mostly was a success, she saved now perhaps sixty percent more now that she could simply recycle the scraps into something worth using.

Gems were particularly expensive, besides the upfront material costs which was pretty hefty by itself.

Not only did those crystals needed to stay within the Earth for a period of time to be contracted by the spirits of said Earth, the cuts need to be perfect and exact.

A single mistake could completely ruin the connection to the Earth spirits and leak Prana from the crystalline prison meant to house the Magical Energy thus making it a faulty Mystic Code. Rin Tohsaka cried tears of joy when Gudako mentioned how she was using said Alteration spell to make the perfect cuts each and every time once she structurally analyzed the perfectly cut Mystic Codes and used them as a template.

Rin also preceded to smack her father on the back of the head for not thinking of using his Alteration in such a manner. Sometimes, she wondered if her father could do better. She loved her mother but Shiori also acknowledged how troublesome and needy that older woman was. Rin Tohsaka was what those anime clichés referred to as a true blue Tsundere, those kinds of people are just hard to deal with especially the ones that had formal martial arts training like Rin. Especially Rin.

For Sakura nee, she would waste no expense making the plum haired stacked bombshell of a woman the best knife set in the world. Shiori didn't even care that her future master pieces would simply be used for dicing and cubing ingredients. That was the expression of love she held for the younger Tohsaka sibling, when her father was away for his free-lancing which was quite often and when her mother holed herself in her workshop to work on her projects, it was this gentle plum haired woman that clothed and fed them.

While she was doing some shopping, she might as well as stock up on materials for her arrow projects. Besides the gem tipped arrow heads, her father just sent her a few boxes worth of Black Keys he got from a certain blue haired Executor that he was supposedly close with. That was a story that Shirou refused to elaborate on for whatever reason.

Well… in any case, it was nice of that Executor to give her father some Black Keys and this red mantle made of the cloth of a saint as a present. That implied that they were friends or at least friendly acquaintances. Her father didn't have many of those besides a Magus from Chicago that he found particularly reckless. The kettle calling the pot black right there. That father of hers was a true-blue hypocrite right there.

She really didn't know why she liked making Mystic Codes so much, it wasn't as if she wished to fight Dead Apostles and Sealing Designations like her father nor did she wish to make a profit like her mother. It was a hobby for the sake of creating for the fun of it.

What are the chances Gudako would be using this skill beyond it simply being a hobby?

"**Just wait a chapter." **For a brief moment, she swore she heard the voice of a transcendent being. A being outside the confines of this universe she exists in… was this the so-called Mahatmas Helena Blavatsky made mention of? In any case, even if her Mahatmas were nothing but Helena's delusions the Russian was still a prodigial Mage that changed many fields of Western Mage-Craft with her innovations.

Does… this mean that the voices she heard, and the Mahatmas Helena heard are like one of those ludicrous Great Ones those homeless people keep screaming about near the train stations. Shiori didn't want to even think about the potential of her devolving into madness like those hobos.

Shit… she forgot that she had school today. Shiori quickly used some of the Runes etched within her sneakers and casted a full body Reinforcement and took off like a bullet. No way she's going to lose her perfect attendance streak… worst comes to worst, she'll just hypnotize the staff to change her records. She really was some sort of perfectionist for some odd reason.

little did she know… that she'll be needing those skills pretty soonish. For that was her true calling in life, her destiny as some may say.

* * *

Back in Antarctica in a whole different reality, Minato Arisato was forced to change in to some sort of student's uniform that looked like his old Gekkoukan clothes and a Mage's uniform which consisted of sleeveless sweater and a black sleeved cloak that had Da Vinci's staff as an emblem.

Leonardo mentioned something along the lines of her formally acknowledging him as her 'disciple'. In a sense that was technically true, but he had a feeling that that woman simply wanted him to call her teacher or master Leonardo. She certainly had a fair bit of ego since she called herself 'Omnipotent' so pretentiously.

Or perhaps, it is pretentious simply because his more divine Personas were fussing up a storm when she claimed omnipotence. That was a word generally exclusive to creator gods like the God of the Abrahamic faith.

This… woman was the world-famous Leonardo Da Vinci. Somehow, Minato wasn't surprised by this fact. That certainly explained why the Fool found her/him to be familiar to himself despite never having laid eyes on the Servant prior coming to this world. It was because he had seen the Mona Lisa in person and the Caster used that woman's as a base for his new one, he created.

The Fool was questioning his sexuality as a male, his mind rationalized that the mind within the Caster was male but his body told him that Leonardo was a woman through and through. Minato could see why Leonardo chose to use Mona Lisa as his base body, Mona Lisa was gorgeous, a beauty that rivaled even the denizens of the Velvet Room.

"I see," Minato mumbled out reading the materials that Da Vinci had produced for him to study. "So, this world operates on multiple layers of reality, the highest plane is what the Mages refer as the Root of all things. The Root is what defines the rest of reality and the other layers operate on differing hierarchies."

After the Root came the Spiritual reality that defines concept as destiny and shapes matter in some degree. The lowest reality is which all would refer to as the material world that everyone lived in. It made logical sense to the Persona User, like how the collective unconscious presides above the regular world in his reality.

"The higher in this hierarchy, the greater mysteries it contains and thus the power over reality is greater than lower planes such as the material plane." Minato continued as he reiterated the text in a more compact form that is also easier to digest. "And thus, the existences that are within these higher planes had the power to dictate the laws over realities as well. Like a video game programmer coding the world of the game."

The material world was the bare-bone virtual world and the gods and similar existences are the coders. That was how Minato chose to digest and interpret the tomes in front of him. The Persona User could just feel the glares of the bodyguards standing at the sides of the door. One of them was Alexis Auburn, the same man that slammed his head back on to the metaphorical ground with the butt of his Evoker. The Japanese teenager would be lying if he didn't hold any sort of negative feeling towards the Enforcer.

But he wasn't going to let this Alexis Auburn get in the way of his studies. Mage-Craft was a more… complex power than the power of Persona. Besides simply awakening to one's Potential, there was really no need for any further knowledge to use that power besides perhaps learning the Arcana.

This Mage-Craft was certainly a much more research heavy field with pre-defined limits compared to what he was used to. Now Minato understood just why all the others made such a big deal regarding his Magic Core that he supposedly possessed. Mage-Craft was abundant as the miracles that anyone could name but the pre-defined limitations came in the form of the competency of the caster, their ingenuities mind could equalize the gap between two Magus but generally the one with higher reserves and ability to mold mysteries is often times the one victorious.

Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius, that was a fact that the whole world acknowledged. The world called her omnipotent and she agreed with that statement and thus this omnipotence manifested in all fields she dabbled in.

That made her naturally the best teacher for the boy in front of her that had a cute befuddled expression that amused him/her. That was not to say she was looking down on the blue haired boy, the fact that he could follow her at all was a testament to his own intelligence.

She tried to get Mash to learn the basics of Mage-Craft at the behest of Romani, but the poor child's eyes glazed over within twenty minutes. Leonardo got scolded by Romani that day, Mash wasn't stupid by any means, but she supposed it was hard to become proficient in a skill that one had no interest in.

For the first time in her life, Leonardo had no idea of what a person's capabilities were. What she/he can achieve and what other's can achieve, with but a glance, the Caster could grasp or calculate the true worth of an individual.

She couldn't calculate the potential or capacities of Minato Arisato and Leonardo found that very exciting. At first, she found himself teaching the Master Candidate out of obligation due to the director's orders, then she wished to teach him to get a better chance to observe that body of his and its unique properties to build upon her own knowledge. But now… now she wanted to teach the young man to nurture the very high intelligence of that mind. Like finding a rare gem, it would be a terrible shame to not process the stone and shine its beauty to the world.

It wasn't as if the boy was naturally gifted as he was, but Minato Arisato was certainly absorbing the knowledge at a rapid rate like a dehydrated man in the desert finding an oasis. It was refreshing to have hard working disciples again; it made the third Servant of Chaldea feel young again… even more so than what was already displayed by this new body of his.

"That's good, a suitable explanation of the ways of the world as any," Leonardo replied to how Minato chose to analyze and compare the information he processed. "Now that's out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes of what you wished to learn. Mage-Craft or better known as Thaumaturgy."

"Thaumaturgy… Miracle workings." Minato mouthed out the word, his Greek based Personas translated it and broke down it's etymology for the Fool without him even asking them. Nice, they were never this vocal back in his old world, they usually just say their introductions in the Velvet Room and that was that besides the occasional praise or snide comment. He'll have to think of what that entails to later, it sounds promising like a personal search engine for his memories and theirs based on the legend they personify.

"Indeed, a Magus is a weaver of miracles." The Caster continued. It was nice to have such a cultured young boy as a student. "Mage-Craft is an artificial re-enactment of mystery that is normally reserved for inhuman existences. Therefore, by extension, Magic Circuits or a Core in your case are a system normally alien to the human body. Hence why first-generation Magus get them through some sort of mutation despite the Circuits being a physical expression of one's soul."

Artificial? The first thought that he jumped to, was the situation regarding Strega, they were artificially given their Potential as a Persona User and they were possibly made to counter the inhuman existences known as the Shadows. They were borne of humanity but were somewhat detached as well, that was how the generic Shadows of Tartarus were endless.

But it was probably referring to the artificial creations like electricity that was used to power people's homes and the fire that man managed to control. They were originally accidental gifts of gods and nature and as civilization progressed mankind managed to tame those elements through their own efforts.

As to the Circuits being unnatural to the human body, Minato wasn't the least bit surprised about that, like the fact that a Persona had to be 'awakened' was a similar albeit coincidental supplement to the matter. It was more a grasp at strawman's logic than anything, but the Persona User was using all compatible information he had and used them as an analogy to help him understand the can of worms that is Mage-Craft and the ways of this world.

"I… see," Minato cupped his chin seemingly in deep thought. "Because this pseudo nervous system does not naturally belong to the body of man, it causes pain every time one over-exerts it."

Just like how the Dark Hour drains humans far more than reality, he was an exception due to his link with Death, but he saw the results on his comrades. Akihiko a trained boxer tired out within ten minutes of fighting Shadows and needs rest despite the silver haired Senpai could box many times over those ten minutes in the regular world.

"It's like overstraining any muscle, if you abuse it beyond what it is capable of their will be physical repercussions whether it be stiffness in the body, burns and even changes in one's genetic structure. There had been cases where Magus' eye and skin color have changed due to over-exerting one's Magic Circuits."

A certain red clad Counter Guardian sneezed in the Throne of Heroes. Some one was talking about him… probably that naïve kid.

"Mage-Craft gathers their strength from the Root, and that is precisely why most Mages wish to reach to reach Akasha." The Caster continued as he/she watched her cute student write down his condensed lecture into a palatable medium. "Now… can you guess why? Beyond simply researching for researching's sake that is… not that there's anything wrong of that of course." Da Vinci didn't care for the Root all that much, he/she is an artist and an inventor that happened to also be a Mage. A small but very meaningful difference. Paradoxically she/he was a scientist who became a Magus, those fields were more interconnected than what those stuffy staff swingers in the Clock Tower want to acknowledge.

"…If the Root was the origin of all existences then," The Blue haired male started but paused when he noticed Da Vinci hopped onto his desk, he was taking notes on and sat on it giving the Japanese male a generous view of his/her posterior.

Minato tried to focus on anything BUT that, curse his teenaged hormones. He really didn't want to know what sort of games this man was playing but the Fool didn't appreciate it.

"Yessssss?" Da Vinci sang in a sing-song voice twisting her waist somewhat giving the Fool another generous view of her bust area this time. The Caster KNEW what he/she was doing and that mildly annoyed the Persona User. He himself requested a tutor to teach him the ways of Mage-Craft so Minato couldn't say he/she was invading his personal space like Junpei was when the capped teenager slung his arm over his shoulders playfully.

The bird… focus on the ornamental bird on her shoulders and not her womanly parts. Minato muttered under his breath, low enough that the Caster Servant couldn't even make out which was a borderline miracle since even the lowest of Servants are multiple times more powerful than humans and thus their senses are as well.

"If the Root is the origin of all things then, naturally the one who reaches it is one who comprehends all of existence. If you can comprehend it then you can shape it… essentially they get to become an existence on par with a creator deity or perhaps even greater."

Minato was beginning to regret asking to learn how to become a Magus at the moment. This was getting ridiculous; he was used to dealing with abnormal teachers back in Gekkoukan high school, but Leonardo Da Vinci takes the cake for weirdness and the Persona User had the feeling that Da Vinci was one of the tamer Heroic Spirits out there. It was just a gut feeling that he knew to be true.

Minato glanced at the door frame where Alexis Auburn was and even that guy was giving him sympathetic looks and THAT was saying something. The Fool knew how much that Enforcer hated his guts for merely breathing the same air as him.

The Blue haired Persona User also noticed that Alexis Auburn and his Co-worker had noticeably red faces as they blushed at the sensual modeling that the Servant modeled after the Mona Lisa was basically doing. He also noticed that they were trying to casually cross and close their legs tp hide their… enlarged family jewels. This was looking more and more like one of Junpei's unspeakable fantasies, if that capped teen was still alive then he probably would have punched the Wildcard out of sheer envy and Minato would have let him.

It reminded him too much of Junpei's Operation Beach Hunt and he really just wished he could simply bury that memory already. That memory and the execution that Mitsuru performed in Kyoto due to Junpei's and Ryoji's idiocy. He and Akihiko did not deserve to share that fate, especially the boxer due to the weakness of his Persona.

"**Hmph,"** Caesar grunted. The Emperor Persona did not like to be remembered of that moment either. **"I'll have you know that I've lost my ice weakness a little while ago." **There was a certain smugness in his voice from escaping the elemental disadvantages he inherited from Polydeuces.

That was certainly a surprise… was this the results of crossing worlds? In any case, that was good news to hear. Mitsuru's executions was fate that no one should endure… especially to those weak to Bufu.

If only he could ignore the bosoms of Leonardo Da Vinci, they were practically being shoved in his face to the point that he could smell them without even intending to. And they smelled nice… women smelled nicer than men in general.

Focus on the bird, focus on the ornaments she was wearing… Anything but her? Admittedly gorgeous body that fanned bodily lust… Minato wasn't into that. He was a straight man through and through, he didn't hold anything against those who… modified their sex but it wasn't his cup of tea and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

Snap!

Minato fell off his seat from hearing the flash of a camera. The Servant had a victorious look on his face when a photograph was printed out of her cameral like device.

"Thank you for your assistance," He/she smiled coyly at him, a smile that felt out of place knowing that an old man was within that young female body. "That cute expression of yours is worth immortalizing on canvas. It shall be my next masterpiece." The self-satisfied smirk grew slightly larger as the camera printed out the small picture around the size of a fully-grown man's hand length wise.

The device wasn't a modern camera and was around twice as bulky in comparison. The lenses were made our of a thin crystal and the shell was made out of dense brown wood and aged brass rather than any plastic or any modern materials. Admittedly, Minato agreed that the camera Da Vinci made was a work of art and it would fetch a high price in any antique shop.

This camera was made from her/his skill Item Creation and it was worth every second invested in to its creation. Da Vinci wished that photographs existed back when he was alive, there were countless number of times when people simply couldn't hold their expressions long enough to be painted. That and even something as mundane as capturing pictures of nature and landscapes would have been a goldmine to any artist worth their salt. Photography was a blessing of the human mind. All thanks to Johann Zahn and centuries later Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.

Minato simply hung his head down and accepted his fate, this was probably one of the tamer actions the Caster Servant could have done. He simply has to live with this world's eccentricity, and he was the one intruding in to this reality after all, a guest does not cause issues in the homeowner's land and he applied that logic here albeit in a much larger scale. No matter where the Wildcard goes, weirdness simply follows him like a plague.

He wanted to be done with the lecture for the day and return to his room already. It was a large enough room but the sheer whiteness of everything just made it so dull. But that was fine, a room was a room and a bed is a bed. It need not be decorative to fulfill that purpose in mind. Besides… it'll be filled with the mythical tomes that Da Vinci and by extension Olga Marie Animusphere gave him to study in his spare time.

* * *

Romani finished his obligations for the day and was in the middle of tidying up. He needed a shower and a fresh change of clothes after being exposed to a numerous variety of chemicals and sweat. Romani was tired, being a doctor also meant that he also had to stand for hours on end, especially if there's a surgery involved. It was just a part of the job that he chose to pursue and thus the physician sucked up his complaints and bottled them until he could lay it on the next co-worker he saw.

His work schedule would probably be multiplied by a hundred-fold once the Master Candidates being currently negotiated for come rolling in. That was going to be a terrible to go through and he was definitely not going to appreciate it.

He learned long ago that if he bitched now then he would miss out on the cakes in the cafeteria and everyone knew that he loved him some sweets. They were usually kind enough to leave a slice of cake for him… emphasis on usually.

There were other days that some of them would eat them all out of greed or spite and leave Romani's sweet tooth unfilled and unloved. It was as if a man dying of thirst watching another man drown.

That's why the apricot haired man needed to hurry, take his shower and rush to the cafeteria before it's too late! That cake was his!

Rushing down the hall, the doctor ran into someone and caused them both to fall on to the hard metal floors. The sound of whatever the other person was carrying dropped to the ground as well in varying rates, but the dull thuds were the same. The sound of flipping of pages indicated that the dropped gave away that they were books or tomes of some kind.

"…Today is not my day is it?" A young but familiar voice was heard. It sounded tired and filled with quiet dissatisfaction evident in it. The doctor felt a pang of sympathy, his day was pretty boring and stale and consisted of him running around like a pack mule.

Romani groaned clutching his head for a few moments before picking himself up and saw just who he just ran into.

It was Minato, the boy stayed on the metal flooring flat on his back with his usual blank expression shown on his face with his arms spread out as if he's trying to make snow angels or strike a T-pose. Under normal circumstances the physician would have had a small laugh at the ridiculous looking posture, but his own head was killing him and his humor by extension.

The teenager had a mean poker face, the doctor could admit that. The Persona User didn't even flinch from the collision on the metal alloy… Romani wished he had a head as hard as that. He swore that the floor dented from Minato's hard dome, the weight of him falling was enough to dent the classified alloy that the Animusphere created for this mobile facility.

"…Are you ok?" He asked the Japanese teen sprawled on the floor not moving a muscle. Romani hoped that he didn't suffer brain damage from that fall.

Not only would that make him feel like a terrible human being… he would have to answer to Olga when she questions what happened to her Master Candidate. That would really be a terrible way to end the day.

"If I was paying you for my medical treatment, I would be seeing for mal practice." The Fool eventually responded. Those books were heavy, the lightest tome was fifteen pounds at least and three or four tomes hit his face. The corner of one smashed his eyelid and the second to last book slammed dispassionately on the bridge of his nose. He was fortunate that his body was made of sterner stuff nowadays.

Today was not a good day indeed.


	5. The 'New' World

**Sup guys, I got some decent Servants in the CCC banner, Got Melt, NP2 Suzuka Gozen, another copy of Sanzang but not so much on the second banner. Instead of Kiara or EMIYA Alter, I got spooked with Astolfo but eh, still a 4 star so not complaining. Can't complain due to not using any quartz besides 1 ten pull. used the hell of my tickets though.**

**TheWillofSon: Uneventful sure but I felt it to be necessary for a smoother transition for Minato. This world is unexplored territory for the Persona User after all. He usually does have higher control... if he actually fully ascended to Messiah hood like in the canon ending. List those extra Arcanas and I'll consider it, though Kiara has a high possibility for hunger.**

**VGBlackwing: I know we settled it in our PMs but Zelretch and Minato actually perform similar feats based on the moon alone. Though do your research on P3 NYX, she's not inferior compared to the Types when she herself is Extraterrestrial in origin.**

**Dxhologram: Nailed it, Minato is a Wildcard and the wielder of the Universe, even if it is dormant.**

**Heron: he'll be used to it at that point if Astolfo will be summoned.**

**Tenshu: Yeah that Thaumaturgy thing was a rather last minute thing but glad you liked it.**

**Kagerou: That is an interesting factoid, if you or anyone can create spells regarding that Musical Mage-Craft then I'll included it.**

**Ratutz: Still planning that but wait and find out what happens.**

**Terra: That's a bit further in... like 2-3 chapters in. So no spoilers.**

**Doortolight47: Personas will show up when they show up. I get everyone's excitement regarding that but all in due time.**

**Blue Cipher: Yup regarding Raikou. But on a more serious note, why does everyone like Raikou? I personally find her design to be unfeasible regarding her gigantic breasts.**

**Guest: Technically yes, he has been nerfed but I learned my lesson and having a OP protagonist right off the bat is kinda boring. Plus, he also got new powers, Mage-craft and his Divine/Magic Core was never a thing in P3.**

**Guest: Don't know much about the Crypters TBH, if you got a scene or idea then be my guest. no pun intended.**

**Kinaki: Noble Phantasms... technically yes but that comes with the bag of worms regarding Prana consumption. Caesar has a slightly different special move than Fate Fat Boi Caesar.**

**Farron: This guy or gal is smart. Luci sword is op.**

**Saru: Exactly, though Minato is hardly Cosmic level like Saver as of right now. And as for Solomon...**

**Carrie: He doesn't need a mother figure. But he will be forced to have one. but seriously, Minato is 16/17, he's a grown man, he'll deal with his scars at his own pace with or without others.**

**YCG: He doesn't merely look like Orpheus but is actually descended from him and another Argonaut. A bit of a spoiler but eff it, but his father's side of the family isn't pure Japanese due to living in America since the late1800s.**

* * *

After saying farewell to Romani for an hour, the Persona User returned to his room and cracked open one of the tomes that Da Vinci selected for him to use. Plopping down on a simple wooden chair with a soft velvet fabric for a cushion, Minato flipped through the chapters until he found something that caught his interest.

It was a chapter on Mystic Codes and their purposes. A Mystic Code was a support type tool or weapon that a Magus carries around and their intended uses are as varied as the types of Mage-Crafts are around due to the ingenuity of the human mind. Perhaps the variation was even greater due to the number of branches and personalization of each craft out there.

Based on this section, there were generally two types of Mystic Codes that are created, an amplifier or one built for a specialized purpose. The latter was usually more powerful than the former, but an amplification type had much more flexibility. There were also those who don't quite fit either of the two categories but there wasn't all too much information on that miscellaneous section. Either it was too rare or more likely, the information itself was just to precious to those who practice the creation of the Mystic Codes that don't fall on the two categories and hoarded the knowledge for themselves.

It made sense; mysteries are only mysteries if it was unknown. Those that become known and practiced loses that mysterious aspect of theirs and thus could even lose their power. That was rather terrifying to think about, yet the opposite applies to legends, the more known they are the more powerful in turn.

But that was a topic for later when he actually does summon one of these 'Heroic Spirits'. He was actually interested in meeting a legend made flesh and compare them to the likes of his Personas. The power of Persona ultimately relies on the strength of the User, but he was certain that they too took power from legends since they, the general Personas borne of the Velvet Room at least were shaped their legends from the collective unconscious and how people chose to view them besides himself.

He was in a new world and thus a new collective unconscious and how these 'legends' influence his Personas made him wary.

But like he said, he'll worry about it when he actually starts summoning. For now, this Mystic Code thing caught the curiosity of his mind and when something does, Minato Arisato wouldn't be able to let it go.

Minato was convinced, he wanted to create a Mystic Code of his very own. Despite his lack of knowledge of Mage-Craft the Fool had already created an image within his mind of his future tool. The reason he wanted to create it isn't power for power's sake.

He didn't really need a Mystic Code per say due to all the supplies he gathered as the field leader of SEES which included the legendary weapons he found in Tartarus and his Persona weaponry created with the Void Weapons. That was all the power he needed; the power of legend given form not unlike a Heroic Spirit Armaments called Noble Phantasms. Laevateinn simply by existing made it difficult for Mitsuru even be around one hundred meters near him and was able to melt an entire frozen river without even activating the sword's true power or even make contact with its tip.

Mjolnir crushed the stronger versions of the Arcana Magician in one blow completing Elizabeth's older sister's 'Vision Quests'. They were incomparably strong and only the strongest weapons that Tartarus had to offer in Monad even came close to their destructive potential.

Nothing within the Age of Man could even top his Lucifer's Blade, Minato was that certain of that swords capabilities.

The Void Weapons despite being blank slates were not inferior to the completed arms filled with the rich history and legends of his Personas. They were existences that not even the scientists and researchers funded by the vast wealth of the Kirijo Group could even begin to comprehend and that was saying something if they discovered the true nature of the Shadows and Nyx herself.

Fuuka asked to scan the Nihil sword out of curiosity one day and when she proceeded to scan the item with her Persona Juno, the teal haired girl gotten a huge headache and started to bleed from her eyes. What she managed to find out about these arms was that they were the 'picture of the void that preceded the world'.

Back then the blue haired male simply shrugged the description of the items off, why did he care about its origins when the fact that he already knew its potential use when used in tandem with his Personas. Back then he was more worried about Fuuka than anything else but now that he was in this new world that operated on different laws than his original world, the history for the lack of a better word plays a very big part in the potency of the powers here.

Like he learned from coming to this world, the older it is and the more mysterious the mystery and the more mysterious it is, the more powerful it becomes.

And taking that into consideration, what is older than 'the picture of the void before the world.'? Well… that would have to wait until later tonight, he had already promised to meet up with the clumsy and lazy doctor for some dinner. And what was a definite fact for the Wildcard was that he definitely loved food.

* * *

Romani quickly gave his apologies to the boy which much to the doctor's relief, Minato didn't seem to mind what happened all too much. The fact that he heals fast also probably contributes to that fact. It was a sight to see, seeing the wound glow a heavenly white dimly for a brief moment and the wound gone the next was so intriguing.

Roman Archaman could see why Da Vinci want to have a closer inspection on how Minato's body functions. Even a small genetic sample could be the answer to most of mankind's struggles in the medical field… not that Romani could contribute to the said medical struggles of mankind. As long as the healing from the blue haired teen's body was even the slightest supernatural in origin, the Mage's Association would never allow that to be released to the general public.

Not to say that was just fine and dandy, it wasn't but if that could save just one person then Romani would be satisfied. That blood sample he taken earlier might very well be the life and death for that girl, she might have accepted what happens afterwards and before… so did he but it was different now! There was a chance, a possibility now that simply did not exist before and while Minato didn't know as of current, his blood will be the key to save Mash.

It just needs a bit more testing but as a Doctor and as one who learned in the Clock Tower, Roman could just taste the possibility that blood holds.

And just for that alone, he was grateful for the appearance of the Japanese teen. Whether or he accepted the 'offer' to become a Master Candidate, in his mind, Minato was already a hero and Mash's Savior.

The two parted ways briefly but agreed to meet each other in an hour's time for dinner later. Romani still had to take a shower to get rid of the stinky smell that emanated from him and get a change of clothes.

"Glad you made it," Romani scratched the back of his head nervously. He didn't know how to talk to such a mute person and had to make a conscious effort to keep the conversation going. "Don't know about you Minato but I am starving." He really didn't know how to speak to the younger man but then again, the boy just got here so it'll probably be something that would change once he had a better grasp on Minato's personality.

The sad part was that the blue haired Persona User probably didn't even know that there was a slight awkward air around them, if he did notice then he didn't pay it any heed. Well… it's great that he alone could speak for more than two people as most of the staff would say.

Minato simply nodded at the statement. The Fool was mildly impressed at the size of the cafeteria, someone clearly had a lot of money to spend when creating this facility. It was far larger than even the food courts in those brand malls and that was saying something. It was almost maddening seeing that the staff of Chaldea was nowhere near what a crowded city could produce.

If he had one complaint then it would be this, everything was glaringly white like the rest of the base. The floors reflected the lights like a mirror and could blind a person momentarily.

Romani sighed. This was probably some sort of quirk of his, wasn't the worst to deal with but it was a bit annoying. Minato might have been worse with dealing with people than he did back in the day and that was saying something.

As the more social of the two, the head of the medical department will task himself with the goal of eliciting a more reactive interaction.

Still, being a little on the quiet side was better than all the sadistic habits that Mages tend to form. Romani was friends with Olga Marie's father Marisburry but even the doctor had to acknowledge that the latter did some rather… questionable acts morally speaking.

"Is there a preference for the types of food you eat? There's probably no sushi or ramen here." Roman hoped he didn't sound racist. The only thing he really knew of Japanese culture was what legends he read up on and his Magical Girl anime that he watched.

"I do prefer them since I'm more familiar with those types of dishes, but anything is fine." Minato gave a cursory glance at the staff, from the chefs and the personnel and frowned. This place felt artificial, most of the people too. He didn't know how else to explain it, they were supposed to be co-workers at the very least, but he felt no sort comradery from them, the supposed staff that will 'save' the Human Order.

"Yeah, most of them are like that." Romani got into the line and gestured to the teen to do the same. "You have to understand that most Mages are not moral people, no matter how friendly they seem…they have agendas and don't move without reason."

"…Is that so?" Minato unconsciously balled one of his fists with its nails digging into the palm. He was instantly reminded of the former chairman Ikutsuki and how he betrayed them. If the majority were truly like him then he would have to be on his guard.

"Well some of the staff are more personable, more than the Clock Tower anyways and you can't really expect much more from that." He shrugged lazily and whiffed up the delicious tantalizing aromas that came from the grills. He sighed in happiness; the quality of food had certainly gone up through the ages. No matter how long he been in this era, the smell never gets old.

Judging from the slight growling of the boy's stomach, Minato agreed with him.

"I see." The Vessel of Death stated simply.

Romani bit back another sigh, this one needed to learn how to communicate with people more. These fragmentary responses are really hard to continue off of.

"Listen, outside Chaldea is a metaphorical warzone, everything is political when it comes to Magi and I doubt you'll wish to be a part of." He finally reached the top of the line and gazed around to see the options available to him. Choosing was hard, especially when everything looked good.

Eventually the older man picked some lamb shish kebabs over some gravy and peppered mashed potatoes. He also gotten himself some strawberry cheese cakes as well for his sweet tooth. That and a cola for a drink, an off brand one but it was just as good as Coca Cola and Pepsi.

"I understand." The blue Fool replied while gazing at the spread of dishes as well. The growling of his stomach grew louder to the point that it sounded like a monstrous cross breed between a lion and a motorcycle.

Did he? The doctor was secretly impressed and a bit disturbed at the same time regarding Minato's bodily responses, the apricot haired man managed to keep a straight face on. He was growing more and more exasperated at those one liner type responses. It didn't help the fact that the young man had the expressiveness of a pencil regarding his facial expressions.

Minato chose his meal similar to what Romani had chosen, pan seared steak cubes over gravied and peppered mash potatoes topped with guacamole and cilantro. The blue haired male also gotten a side of chicken salad that used romaine lettuce and a triple layered fudge chocolate cake to finish it all off. For his drink, he simply chosen some sweetened iced tea with lemon… and some clam chowder soup.

Romani simply gawked at the sheer amount of food that Minato had picked up. There's no way that a human body could fit all that in… right? "Hey… do you think you can finish all that?" He gulped.

"Yes." Minato nodded.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded again. The Fool never got why people keep asking that question. From Yukari to Mitsuru and the others he dated on a whim. The only ones who never made a comment on his appetite was Elizabeth who had an even larger appetite than him and Akihiko whose competitive nature practically ordered him to challenge the field leader of SEES to an eating contest.

Needless to say, the Wildcard won that challenge but to Akihiko's credit, the boxing captain did put up a valiant fight.

The duo reached an empty table by the windows meant for two people and plopped down unceremoniously. They weren't tire per say but their legs appreciated now longer needing to work.

Their meal was fairly quiet and calm in spite of the background chatter. Minato found himself savoring the food since this is his first real dish since he came to this world. The energy bars he got from Da Vinci so he wouldn't be distracted by his stomach and bodily warning from his/her lessons. Because of this, he intended to savor every single bite. Every single bite.

"**That is the way, my master."** Caesar stated smugly. As a Persona he tasted everything the User tasted.

For some reason the Roman leader spoke more than most of his other Personas besides Orpheus, Thanatos and Messiah. He and Akihiko were never that close in terms of their personal relationship. The Fool expected Athena, Isis or Trismegistus to be the more vocal of the SEES Personas.

"If you say so," Romani decided to drop the subject entirely and accepted that this was probably Minato's quirk. EVERYONE related to the supernatural had a weird habit or personality in some way shape or form. "Say, why did you accept Olga's offer to be a Master that is."

That was killing the doctor more than he was willing to admit, Minato's expression when Olga offered him that proposal was not a good one and chilled Roman to the bone. The gaze that shown indifferently to the status of the Human order and because of that he wanted to know more of the man across from him.

Just what caused that change in mind for Minato? The incineration he saw that day was an event that couldn't be changed, a fate written in stone, the same as saying water was wet as a fact. He wanted to understand the child that will stand amongst the ashes, the ones that will fight against the inevitable.

The spoon Minato was holding paused and made a loud dink sound against the ceramic bowl that housed his food. The shoulder of the man stiffened like he was suddenly struck across the back hard.

"…" The Persona User stared at the spoon he held intensely. The hand shook minutely and barely noticeable if it wasn't for the clinking sounds against the bowl like teeth chattering in the cold.

"To be completely honest, I don't know why." He set the utensil down and looked at the palms of his hands with a far-off expression. He was staring something that was not there, and Roman knew instinctively that the Japanese teen was reflecting on his memories. The sole visible silver eye turned a dull gray. "I suppose I don't have anything better to do."

He exhaled through his nose. "I understand that answer doesn't offer any sort of relief towards you people who worry about this Human order but that is the most honest answer I can give you."

Romani didn't know how to respond to that, he didn't know whether he preferred Minato's one-line responses or his chilling reasoning for becoming a Master. This… was the man that he was placing his hopes on.

"Don't give me that look," Minato noticed the emotion and thoughts from the gaze of the doctor. "I will fight with everything I have for this grandiose goal of this organization. Regardless of your opinion of my reasoning for participating, know that Minato Arisato does not do anything in half measures."

Minato as he existed now had nothing to lose, and that was precisely why he could fight his hardest.

"Is this simply due to pride or is it something else?" Roman doubted it was pride, Minato simply didn't seem like the type to be bound by pride or honor, but he wanted to know more about him. There was something very captivating about his gaze that couldn't be described with mere words.

The older man could see that he drawn to conclusion about the teen too quickly but whether he was the one he was waiting for remained to be seen.

In Homurahara Academy across time and space, Shiori Emiya sneezed violently. She knew for a fact that someone was talking about her behind her back! They better hope she doesn't find out lest they be getting a kidney punch.

"…Sorry, I'm just really worried about all of this." Romani apologized to the younger man. Seeing his eyes, Romani could see the will behind that gaze and even felt a bit ashamed for looking down on this man. The doctor could tell from the fragile distant gaze of the Japanese male that Minato had been through something and something pretty bad but even so, he still wishing to go forward.

The apricot haired man could empathize with him in that regard. To live a life in the present with the memories of the past weighing one down. Romani felt like he respected the boy a little more now, granted he had no clue what the boy gone through but he those eyes of his tell the physician more than enough.

The Fool simply brushed it off. "It's fine, I understand that my response didn't exactly fill you with confidence." Truth be told, the Fool didn't have much confidence in himself. It was only natural that Romani would be worried about the existence of man as he knows it, the doctor wanted to get a better picture of one of the Masters that will save Humanity from extinction.

He supposed that his response seemed noncommittal to the older male and that scared him.

***CRACK***

**I am Thou and Thou art I**

**In addition to the existing possibilities**

**Thou Shalt be blessed with Gadreel, the Failed and Fallen Son of God.**

Minato blinked in surprise; these new links had no Arcana attached to them. His soul sighed at the calming respite from the power this link provided. Like a sore muscle being offered an ice pack.

Was beginning to trust him just a tad bit based on one conversation truly enough for a bond to be formed? Immediately, the angelic type Personas like Michael, Metatron, Sandalphon and Melchizedek were stirring up a heated storm from the new addition to the Sea of his Soul.

Minato heard the king of Demon Lucifer chuckling mockingly at the mention of Gadreel's name. **"Poor pitiful fool." **Even his tone was snide to the point that even the usually calm Minato wanted to throw a punch on his face.

Right, based on the stories Gadreel was the angel who guarded Eden when Adam and Eve were still in God's good graces and Lucifer in the form of a serpent either tricked or gotten past Gadreel and tempted Eve into eating the fruit on the tree of knowledge.

The blue haired Fool could emphasize with the newest addition to the Sea of his Soul. From one failure to another, Gadreel will forever be known as the one who doomed man to sin despite being one of God's most trusted.

"Hey, are you alright?" Romani coughed into his fist. "You've been not blinking for like fifteen minutes now, what? Were you having an internal monologue?"

"No." The Persona User responded a bit too quickly. The world must NEVER know.

* * *

Shiori wasn't the biggest fan of school, in her opinion the pace was just to slow. The red head was often times two to four topics ahead of any given topic besides English which not to toot her own horn or anything, she was heads and shoulders above the other students.

Her aunt in all but in blood Taiga Fujimura gave her lessons in English before Shiori could even walk. Apparently, her father's adoptive father Kiritsugu Emiya only spoke to Taiga in English back then all those years ago and then the daughter of the Yakuza did it to her and her younger twin Ritsuka.

Ironically, her father was never that good at the language despite the years he lived in London. Shirou Emiya was a classic example of what the Westerners called speakers of Engrish.

The Emiya attended her classes out of obligation as a student and the fact that Taiga was in general a fun person to be around. Granted she could be a handful to deal with most of the time, Taiga certainly paints their lives with such vibrant colors. That almost made up for the amount of ceramic plates she destroyed, it had gotten to the point where the female Emiya Reinforced all their kitchen ware… even the steel ones. She loved Taiga but she didn't trust the Tiger of Fuyuki with even that.

Shiori casually spun the pencil and balancing it between her knuckles. This was so boring; this girl found her mind to be a contradiction. She was bored of normalcy, yet she had no desire to be involved with the supernatural.

She was probably a let down to her mother Rin, in terms of Magic Circuits she surpassed her but Shiori did not have the soul of a Magus. She was much more like Sakura in that regard, she was a Spellcaster instead of a true mage.

The red-haired girl dropped her pencil when her phone in her pocket vibrated. Gudako had to be excused when she noticed the dirty looks of the history teacher. Tapping on the screen, it was her brother Ritsuka that texted her. There's bound to be a good reason for this, her brother preferred to simply call someone else rather than text. A bit old fashioned but it was likely their father's influence on him.

"Father's going to be home tonight, bring Aunt Sakura later after classes." 2:33 pm.

Speak of Actually Satan and he shall appear. Actually, Satan was what a local Christian man called Shirou Emiya after his daughter grown an infatuation to the white haired red clad mercenary. Ironic considering all the children under the age of 9 called him Santa Claus in December. He accidentally did the mall Santa's job when said mall Santa got stuck in snowy traffic.

Shiori looked at the text and blinked twice, the girl almost didn't want to believe it. The red head haven't seen her father in almost three months! She wondered what kind of adventures did he experience on the other side of the world, did he kill a pack of stray Chimeras that some irresponsible Magus left behind, a Dead Apostle experiment gone wrong or something even more mundane like the battlefields in the middle east fought with guns and grenades instead of mysteries?

Well in any case, tonight was bound to be interesting to say the least. Little did she know just how interesting it's going to be.

School ended soon enough and before heading directly back, Shiori spent a few hours at the archery range practicing the new bow that Sakura nee had gotten her.

She only needed enough time to go and inform her and travel back to her home the Tohsaka residence before dinner. It was currently around 3:45 and she plan to stay at the archery range for around two hours before going to Sakura's residence.

Besides the best way of appreciating the gift her bombshell aunt gave her would be actually using it instead of letting the equipment gather dust as a display piece. The teen had already changed into her gi and hakama to practice. Besides the skirt of the hakama being far longer than what she normally wears, Shiori was perfectly at ease.

FWOSH!

The arrow was drawn and released within the time frame of a blink of an eye. It was feat that couldn't be done without some form of Reinforcement magic. Shiori could draw the bow without using enhancement Mage-Craft but the draw weight of it was simply monstrous and thus made it impossible to draw it so fast unlike her usual practice Yumi. If she had to guess it would be around the three hundred range which surpassed the world record by a hundred pounds.

As expected, the arrow not only hit the bull's eye, it split the previous arrow shaft in half. The projectile still had enough power to split the other arrow even when shot from a distance of nine hundred and fifty feet.

The red head found both these feats to be very important to her. This proved that she had already surpassed the human limits without using Mage-Craft in the slightest besides helping her shooting speed.

Her reasoning was quite simple, if she was already this competent without Mage-Craft then it should stand to reason that she'll be devilishly great when using it. Her father had already taught her how to safely use a Full-body Reinforcement and using that on her eyes would be… an interesting and anticipated scenario.

The Magus lined her bow again, pulled out the arrow and notched it before finally releasing it in one graceful motion.

FWOSH!

Just as predicted, the arrow split the previous one in the bull's eye once more. Just like what her father had taught her, achieving consistency over relying on luck.

That was the motto he lived by second only to helping others is common sense.

* * *

Speaking of gifts, Taiga's grandfather Raiga had also gotten her a birthday gift last year. A third generation Suzuki Hayabusa which was also the fastest sports bike one could buy period much to her father's dismay. Despite fixing motorcycles on his spare time, Shirou Emiya was a person who'd rather not use the machine itself of he could help it.

Not only that, the bike itself was heavily modified with the best money could afford. She herself had minimal interaction with the Yakuza boss but apparently the old man liked her spunk or something along those lines.

Revving up the gears and with a couple of twists of the accelerator, the engine roared like a hungering lion. Just like the motorcycle's name sake the Hayabusa took off like a falcon on steroids.

Ever since, Shiori Emiya had gotten that bike, she became known as the Crimson Devil of Fuyuki. With the Fujimura clan's symbol on the bike itself boldly stamped on its paint job, not even the police were willing to pull Shiori over for going far over the speed limit.

Reaching Sakura's house in the southern end of Miyama Town which also resembled a smaller Tohsaka residence but more modern, the red head knocked on the door and waited for her favorite aunt to respond. Today was Sakura's day off from work so Shiori didn't need to wonder whether she was home or not seeing that the plum haired woman restoked her kitchen just the other day.

"Yes, I'm on my way." Her aunt's gentle voice was heard albeit rather low indicating a sizable distance from the door. "Please wait a minute."

Since both Sakura's new house and the Tohsaka residence are both in the southern side of Miyama town, she could have afforded to be rather liberal regarding her time in the Archery Range. If she had to go to the Emiya residence in place of the Tohsakas, then perhaps Shiori would have had to rush a bit.

Truth be told, even if her idiot brother Ritsuka didn't tell her to pick Sakura she would have chosen to bring her along anyways. Sakura was rather introverted if left alone, whether it be her upbringing in the Matou house or whether it was her original personality Shiori didn't know.

It must have been pretty bad if her mother of all people gotten rather pale talking about it and the Emiya had enough tact to call it quits for any more information regarding it.

"Oh, Shiori Chan," Sakura open the door breaking the red head's trail of thought. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon." The Matou knew her older sister well enough that she'll throw a temper tantrum if one of her ritual fails and needed a day or two worth of breaks.

The daughter of said sister simply palmed her head and shook it exasperatedly. "Muma's still trying to work the kinks out of her pendant Jeweled Sword of Zelretch despite it being failed from the ground up."

One would think that if a magical theory hasn't improved within ten years of tweaking that it meant that said theory is flawed from the ground up, but Rin Tohsaka was as stubborn as a mule when she wants to be.

The reasoning behind the theory made logical sense, well logical loosely speaking. If the Jewel Sword pendant could theoretically see the 'waves' of the parallel universes, then the potential to understand how to perform the operation of parallel worlds significantly interested.

The fact that Rin and perhaps her children had an inkling of compatibility with the Kaleidoscope was already an achievement in of itself. Especially when those old German fossils known as the Einzbern had lost the capability of utilizing their precious Heaven's Feel.

What her mother didn't seem to understand was that if you attempt to create a miniature of a miniature of an intimation of a Mystic Code, many of the vital aspects behind the magical spells are either degraded or lost as a result.

"Um, sure." The thirty-three-year-old woman simply nodded despite having no idea what Shiori meant.

She might know of Mage-Craft and can perform some spells, but she had no interest in trying to expand her knowledge of it.

"Well, have you started making dinner yet?" The Red head got straight to the point. "See, Papa's is in town right now and you've been invited to-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Sakura slammed the door to Shiori's face. The usual gentle woman shut the door with enough force to create a wind current that messed with the red head's hair style.

While it was a rather simple style that can be fixed with a few hand combs it was still mildly irritating. That and the girl really didn't expect to have a door slammed in her face.

"…Well, okay then." Shiori wasn't sure whether she should wait or not. She didn't know how to interpret Sakura's reaction either. Did she slam the door at her due to knowing her father was in town?

It was a rather open secret that the plum haired Matou had feeling towards Shirou Emiya. The younger high school student doubted that she developed a sudden animosity towards his decision to be with the older sister.

She had eighteen years to learn how to deal with that and she had been nothing but kind to Ritsuka and her. The Magus checked her phone to see what time is it.

Five minutes had passed and not another sound was heard from the other side of the door. Shiori was tempted to knock said door again.

Then the door opened with just as much ferocity as it was closed, the adopted Matou rushed outwards with an energy Shiori Emiya never knew she had.

In fact, that startled the girl to the point that she fell flat on her butt and almost tumbled down the stone steps of the property. It was ultimately her years of unarmed combat training that she managed to regain her balance with a quick flip before cracking her head on it.

Sakura was clad in a white silky blouse with a light teal blue sweater buttoned once on the top and was left open to reveal the blouse underneath. She also wore a deep purple skirt that extended a few inches past her knees and some white sandals with a rather thick heel.

…Well okay then.

Shiori thought it was safe to assume that her purple haired aunt wanted. Not that she blamed the older woman, Shiori and her family hadn't seen much of the Faker either. Always wandering to a new battlefield for his skills to be put in use. How ironic, the man that wished for peace the most was the sword that cleaved the heads off of men and monsters alike and the arrow that punctured their lungs, heart and brains.

Well at least her aunt was excited to say the least.

Shiori was not going to lie, she felt… strange when Sakura nee wrapped her arms around her waist. The red head found it to be a bit too tight for her liking.

She rationalized it as it was probably her aunt's first time on a motorcycle or her first time in years, so the older woman probably didn't want to accidentally fall off from lack of awareness regarding the horse power of the motorcycle but still… it was a rather tight squeeze.

It was to the point that she had trouble breathing, the leather jacket she wore probably kept her from suffocating when it protected her from the quite frankly strong grip of Sakura.

For a woman that no longer exercises she certainly was rather strong even when considering the fact that she used to be the archery captain nearly two decades ago.

Simply revving up the engine, the duo took off at insane speeds that scared the nearby stray cats that ate from the house's trash cans. Shiori noticed that there were quite a bit of stray cats near Sakura's home for a while now.

…Was her aunt becoming one of those cliché old cat people? That was scary to think about in of itself, almost as scary as Sakura's inexplicable dark aura that erupts from her at times.

Stopping at a red light, the duo waited for the change to green but a group of old men reeking of booze was staring at them hungrily. They were around their late fifties or sixties, but it didn't really matter. They better not approach them if they knew what's good for their health.

Shiori had dealt with their kind in the past, losers that couldn't get attention from the opposite sex when they were still young and for good reason. They were undesirable and nobody wanted to associate with them and now that they had a bit of money, they assume that they were now the hot shit.

It was at times like these that Shiori hated living in Japan, she didn't care what the laws say age thirteen should not be the age of consent. Thirteen-year old's don't know anything regarding anything much less making adult decisions. No matter what the technical laws are, people who lust over a thirteen-year old are disgusting pedophiles and nothing more.

She had never felt so disgusted as she did back when she was fourteen two years ago and one of those old guys just like the ones looking at Sakura nee's gigantic breasts.

Shiori noticed them actually approaching them and she narrowed her eyes at them. "Sakura nee, let go. I'll handle these scums." She could handle people staring and wolf whistling at her but it's another thing entirely when they stared at friends and family. To her, Sakura was both and more.

The plum haired woman tried protesting but Shiori was pretty stubborn when she made up her mind. She had heard stories of what people them did, and what Shiniko Matou had to say about her father Shinji Wakame head. That guy gave her the creeps.

"I'll say it just this once, we're not interested in you losers so head back before this gets worse." The second generation Emiya doubted they would heed her final 'suggestion' but let the world know that she at least tried to give them the easy way out.

Whether or not they take that kind offer is on them.

And just as she predicted, they brushed it off like rain off an umbrella. "Listen here little girl, we ain't interested in your flat chested ass." He spat making a shooing gesture. "We're here for that fine ass sister you got in the back." Little did he know that Sakura was a whole generation older than her and not just an older sister born a decade before hand.

"Speak for yourself," His friend snorted. That red-haired girl definitely had some nice thighs and with that mini-skirt, she was basically begging for attention. She had no one to blame but her own dumb self.

"The FUCK did you say to me?!" Shiori reddened with equal parts rage and embarrassment so much in fact that an unrefined squawk inadvertently left her mouth.

She might have not inherited Sakura nee's better bustier genes, but she was not FLAT! That comment sent her over the edge, she tried to be calm but Shiori forgot one thing when calculating the confrontation.

"ARGHH! That DOES IT!"

Shiori Emiya for better or for worse was the daughter of Shirou Emiya and more importantly Rin Tohsaka and thus inherited parts of both their personalities. Both her sense of justice and short fuse has been sparked and they manifested right here, right now. They created this monstrosity known as the Crimson Devil.

Sakura sweat dropped as she watched her favorite niece knock out the one male who called her flat chested out with a left hook to the jaw. Shiori might look slender and lithe like her namesake suggested but the girl was freakishly strong from her martial arts training and how frequent archery practice.

The plum haired Matou had lost count of all the hand to hand styles and club the second generation Emiya chose to learn from. From boxing, kick boxing to karate and Kenpo the latter that her mother was taught by a certain fake priest that loved spicy mapo tofu.

The old man went down from the first strike which he was lucky that it didn't simply kill him from the force alone. His head bounced atop the hood of a car and was left sprawled on the asphalt unceremoniously.

"Oh SHIT!" His friend jumped back in shock and fear. "Please step on me!"

"What!?"

"…What?"

That unexpected response drained a bit of Gudako's vigor. She stared at him with an expression reserved for stepping on dog shit before deciding what to do.

She kicked him in the family jewels, hard.

And just like the first guy, he too was laid sprawl across the asphalt unceremoniously. But this time came with a whole lot of more screaming.

* * *

Sakura stared at her with a hand covering her mouth. "You're… certainly Nee San's daughter all right." She didn't even know why she was mildly shocked at the events that transpired.

Gudako kicked the second man in the gut for good measure, a shame that the other one was knocked out, so she made do with this one.

In any case, she won't let this get in the way with their family dinner. It had been so long since they had been able to do something like that. Her father with his constant jobs and her mother's research, such a get together might not happen for another year or two.

Shiori Emiya dusted herself off and got back to her motorcycle and drove off once again with Sakura nee's arms almost suffocating her.

Ah, home sweet home. It was that time of year where the plants and tree were in full bloom, even at night they were still beautiful from the light from inside the house alone. Shiori felt bad for the other foreigners that had allergies when the local plants blooms.

She noted that Sakura nee had a rather conflicted look on her face. It was small and almost unnoticeable, but the younger woman noticed it due to her long relationship with her aunt.

Considering that Tokiomi Tohsaka for all intents and purposes sold her to the Matou family, it was only natural that she had some mixed feeling of this place.

Shiori gave her a concerned look before walking forward to the door. Pulling out the keys and opening the wooden door and entering it with her aunt in tow.

The whiff of her father's cooking made her stomach growl as usual… Sakura's cooking was probably slightly superior but Shiori would keep that little factoid to herself. Gudako didn't want to hurt her father's feelings, the kitchen and his cooking skill were probably one of his only pride.

The Matou gripped the hem of her skirt, her senpai was here just a few feet away. She hadn't seen him in such a long time and yet here she was just a friend to her beloved senpai.

It should have been her. She appreciated Shirou senpai more than Nee san ever will, she was there always there in case they needed a shoulder to lean on.

Ritsuka and Shiori, she was always there for them while Nee sama worked on her so-called Magical research.

She treated them as if they were her own children for, she could not have children. Even now the sick ways her 'Grandfather' Zouken Matou continued to affect her life. Those Crest Worms had taken her ability to have children, those disgusting worms that defiled her destroyed her eggs as an unforeseen side effect. The plum haired Matou didn't care at the time of her personal hell but now… now she saw the joys of forming a family did she realize what she was robbed of.

"Papa!" The girl leaped from the distance if the dining table to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. The sheer enthusiasm in her high-pitched voice nearly caused the man known as Shirou Emiya to go deaf.

"Kurk?!" Shirou the mercenary for hire made a choking sound and the filet knife he was holding in his left hand came this close to shaving a layer of skin on his right finger tips. Thankfully, he was far from an amateur regarding his skills with a blade and kept his fingers a safe distance from the sharp edge.

"…Shiori, you aren't a little girl anymore and I need both my arms to do my job you know." The Magical assassin sighed in exasperation. The only saving grace was that he was well aware of his daughter's quirks long since beforehand, so he wasn't too startled.

He was more than a little glad that he managed to create a warrior and soldier persona and kept his battle instincts suppressed in the privacy of his own home… well technically his wife's home but he lived here more and more due to his children's preference for western designs for housing. That made him a bit sad, he wished to star gaze with them in the garden the same way that he did with Kiritsugu all those years ago.

He wore a gray sweater made of wool with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows neatly and had a pristine Dutch leather apron with white straps that he gotten as a gift from Luvia. Rin wanted to toss it into the fire place but Shirou put his foot down on the matter. Luvia was for all intents and purposes his friend and it was a really nice gift. It would have been a shame for a perfectly good apron such as this to be wasted over a petty rivalry.

The only thing that he didn't understand was the saying printed on the front in big gold letters… which was made of real gold. May the GAR be with you.

No matter how hard he tried to look online in one of those fancy computers which the kids loved but Rin couldn't stand, Shirou could not for the life of him find out what the hell Gar meant. The white-haired Faker didn't know why but that line bothered him, and it took a lot to get under his skin.

"Senpai."

"Sakura." Shirou nodded at her with a kind smile upon seeing her face before going back to the salmon he was filleting. "You look nice."

The Matou blushed at the comment and was frantically smoothing out the hem of her skirt. Shiori simply looked at her with half-lidded eyes, Sakura nee needed to be far bolder if she wanted to get her father's attention.

Not to say he was an oblivious idiot but there were times people simply have to be blunter with the man. Like her brother Ritsuka, now she swore that guy was purposely choosing to forget about girl's crushes at times.

"Food's going to be done in 15 minutes so go get your mother." Shirou said while expertly cubing some sweet onions. The red headed girl noted that the man chose to use her personal crafted knives this time over his own that he bought over the years sifting through antique stores and garage sales.

That probably meant that he considered her crafting skills better than what he could Reinforce so that was a good sign. She was getting better at her hobby and that filled her with a certain type of pride that she never knew she had.

"Sure, by the way, how long you plan on staying home pops?" She didn't get to see him all that much due to his work so naturally she got a bit curious with that.

"Two days." He sliced the salmon into thin orange strips and started to arrange the raw flesh on a green shiso leaf. In other words, he was making some Sashimi and she loved Sashimi with that special lime and orange soy sauce that he made as well.

"Oh… only two days huh," Her red hair casted a shadow that hid her golden eyes that she supposedly inherited from that man. "I'll just go get momma now then,"

And with that she left the room brushing past her purpled haired aunt that she almost forgot was even there.

* * *

She was so close that she could almost taste it. A certain twin tailed black haired Magnus was in her basement workshop working on a miniature of a miniature of a certain Jeweled sword.

They called her a fool; they called her an idiot for pursuing this project for almost two decades, but the fools were THEM! If anything, this showed that determination was one of her better traits and not that she was bullheadedly stubborn.

"Momma, dinner's." Shiori's voice was heard. Normally a Magus would never be allowed in another's Mage's workshop not even one's children or husband, but Rin Tohsaka made an exception with her daughter and Shirou.

"Call me back in an hour!" Rin's stomach grumbled but she was in the middle of a breakthrough. No matter how tantalizingly delicious Shirou's cooking was, she shall not stop in the middle of crafting the modifications on the two-decade old Mystic Code.

The reason that they were allowed was that Shiori had shown to have a higher affinity for both her craft and to a lesser extent Shirou's and thus was made her heir to the Tohsaka Thaumaturgical Crest. And as for Shirou, due to his unique Element, Origin and Sorcery trait, he would never be able to even perform even 99.9 percent of the Magical Spells the Tohsakas had painstakingly created over the centuries.

As much as she loved her son Ritsuka, he was the only one not allowed in her workshop. Only the heir will ever be allowed to touch the main branches' Mage-Craft and the other children are not allowed to even glimpse at the grimoires.

While he had the aspirations of a Mage, more than his twin sister, all the passion in the world would not change the fact that he simply did not have the affinity for the Tohsaka lineage. Despite this, he still wished to be a Magus of his own path and Rin could respect that and thus she considered it a shame to not cultivate his talents alongside Shiori.

She didn't send him away like her father did Sakura, she would never do that to her own blood again. The red clad Magus will not ever turn a blind eye to her sister's suffering again.

That was why she somehow managed to save enough money that she didn't blow on rare gems to send Ritsuka to the Clock Tower as a student under the tutelage of Lord El-Melloi which they gotten on the wrong foot when they first met.

She couldn't believe that the greatest lecturer of the Mage's Association would be into Japanese games and he likewise couldn't believe that a Japanese didn't know much about Akihabara or Nihonbashi.

Well… Ritsuka would probably get along with that man more than her anyway. Besides his bias against Japanese people, he had her support for the dismantlement of the greater grail, so they were at least in amicable terms.

"Ugh, you know that 'one more hour' could stretch to ten hours before you even realize," Shiori rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's going to get cold mom."

"Like I said, one more hou-" Rin attempted to buy a bit more time but was shocked into silence when her daughter touched the pendant.

"Seriously momma, if it didn't work twenty years ago then it wouldn't work now no matter how much effort you put in to i-" The Pendant suddenly started to glow in a myriad of rainbow colors and even in colors that can't even be described before it blinded her in a flash bang.

When Rin opened her eyes, Shiori was nowhere to be found. "…Shit."


	6. The Flow of Time

**Okay, for those who says the progression is slow. THAT'S the POINT, I'd rather have a slow progression than a forced one for the sake of getting to the action. Say what you want but look at it like this, Chaldea is Minato's new job and he needs the skill as a Magus, do you really think him spontaneously learning Mage-Craft would be satisfying?**

**Besides, I specifically said beforehand in chapter 4 that the next 2 or so chapters was going to be slower paced. I don't see why I even bother writing this in the top if people aren't going to read it. This is my story at the end of the day and I write for my own enjoyment.**

**Pacing is such a subjective thing that I will not take it seriously if it's brought up again. END of story.**

**to those that say Shiori is boring... I wouldn't say that I designed her to be boring in mind but her character thus far is the culmination of the character development of the cast of Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night UBW, the deaths of Rin's parents and the development of Shirou and Archer's battle of ideals brought an awakening in Shirou and Rin.**

**Taking that into consideration, I wrote Shiori to encompass the concept of a 'normal' girl with a relatively normal upbringing that HAPPENs to be a Magus rather than a Magus that happens to be a teenaged girl.**

**Midnight49: Lol**

**Dxhologram: That's why I included that part with the Mystic Codes, I want a seemless transition for Minato fitting in the Nasuverse. The Gods and Demon thing will take a while but it is a big deal. Well, Shiori will be there next chapter.**

**Gen2324: Fuck the other mages, yeah a lot of potential from the Servants that Minato would have to be an idiot not to take advantage of.**

**MrKittyWiskers: An obvious troll. You should be ashamed of your username alone. No self respecting man would have Kitty wiskers even as an alias. **

**Benji: Thank you man, the other readings outright told me they skip her sections and in my opinion they might as well skip the whole story of they felt that way.**

**Heron: I actually was gonna give Astraea to Minato as a Persona... before they showed a certain Pseudo Servant that is.**

**Carrie: Never said that wasn't going to happen but he won't be actively searching for a mother figure.**

**TheWillofSon: Hmm, need to think further on that. Though Kama and Kiara will probably take lust.**

**Nunas the No Name: Interesting tid bit. And lol on Gil. The Nihil Weapons were usually found in Golden Shadows so it's not really a Manufactured item though you might have the right idea in the P5 variation.**

**VGBlackwing: Anything is technically possible with these Self-Insert Protagonists but they were made to look like Genderbend Rin and Shirou so that's kinda what they are. You get a thumbs up for reading Shiori's section and actually enjoying it.**

**Art Smail: You don't even have one fanfic under your account that you written, so why should I listen to you for advice? I don't care that you lost interest, I suggest you read something else.**

**you obviously don't know much about background information and for the record, it isn't useless since you like to throw that word around so much. They're a snippet into Shiori's personality that you already lost interest in so why am I even bothering.**

**What you like doesn't matter to me, what's IMPORTANT is what I Like. Don't tell me what to do.**

**0.-Minty-.0: Technically yes. Any Fanfic with an alternate ending is an AU.**

**Matemeo: Shiori's "neck of the woods" was the calm before the storm. Don't expect something big to happen in that Timeline where the Holy grail was deconstructed and thus pretty peaceful. Like I said in Chapter 4, it was going to slow down in terms of pacing in the next few chapters. No offense but you reader's attention span in horrendous at times.**

**Pepebomb: the concept of Minato in FGO doesn't mean its mutually exclusive with Gudako who's actually the protagonist of FGO being a part of it. Secondly, 5 chapters isn't a whole lot of a prolouge compared to certain Fate Stay Night fics like Path of the King and From Fake Dreams which had like 40 plus chapters before the 5th HGW. You Fate fans are inherently hypocritical at times.**

**Blue Cipher: Most of the points I already addressed but why is it ok for Shirou Emiya have a 40 chapter prologue but it isn't ok in a FGO fic? Technically, the past 5 chapters were MEANT to be an introduction but Im not opening that can of worms for a thousandth time.**

**Flitterflux: Yes they will be here.**

**Saru: Wait and find out.**

**Codename bar: Nice to see a fellow nenilein fan but rules regarding Personas are different in this universe.**

**MagusTheLoser and Mana: Perhaps.**

**Journey to the End: I like you, it appears you have an inkling of common sense. A rushed fic isn't fun for anyone involved.**

* * *

Olga the head of the Animusphere family was sitting in her seat behind her desk and stared at the list of Master Candidates that the Clock Tower and the United Nations had recruited. Including Mash and Minato that they found a few months prior, this made the total amount of suitable Magus' up to forty-eight. A substantial difference from when they merely had those two as their agents. Magic Core or not, Designer Child or not, the woman in her early twenties would rather not have the stability of Human Order rely on solely on those two even if they were statistically the better choices in regards of Prana Capacity.

She would have sighed in relief if her aristocratic upbringing didn't beat that reaction out of her, she was still in the public eye and thus must act with the superiority the title of Lord gives. Even in her own personal office, the white-haired Mage still had two guards stationed by the side of her desk and two more at the door. But even so, it was rather difficult to hide to her excitement when the paper list of candidates shown up in her desk, it broke up the monotony of sitting for hours on end and doing piles upon piles of paperwork.

One thing that did irk her is admittedly, the fact that she herself did not have the Spiritron amount necessary to Rayshift and thus is forced to act as a commander and supervisor from afar. The fact that she wasn't on the field meant that the possibility that the battles conducted won't be concluded in her precise vision is exponentially higher. It is a fact proven time and time again that more complications arrive when they're pieces that one cannot completely control like third party contractors.

If one were talking about simply the quality and quantity of her Magic Circuits, then she would definitely be considered first rate. That fact had been proven when her father Marisbury won the Fuyuki Holy Grail War in 2004.

Speaking of Master Candidates, her first one Minato Arisato was a rather quiet and secretive man. Granted they only had a few conversations in the past few months that the blue haired male was undergoing tutelage from their Caster Servant Da Vinci. He still went to her/him for advice from time to time but after learning the fundamentals, Da Vinci clearly favors the detached watch and see from afar approach when teaching her new student.

That Servant was not one to be controlled and despite Olga Marie's orders for her to change to a more direct method of teaching, Da Vanci smugly refused. She/he stated something along the lines of "If I teach that cute boy directly then all he'll become is a second-rate copy of me."

That was such a ridiculous stance to take for a Magus, if anything, Da Vinci was teaching Minato the same way as she/he did when she/he took students in life as an artist and inventor. As a woman dedicated solely to the magical arts, Olga found that stance to be more infuriating than anything else. To Da Vinci, Mage-Craft was more an interesting commodity than anything else, a Spellcaster dedicated to finding practical aspects to Mage-Craft rather than pure research.

But with all that said, Da Vinci was fairly popular in the Clock Tower when she/he was alive and thus opens some avenues with certain heads in said Clock Tower if he/she went to negotiate. That and her Noble Phantasm was rather useful in Chaldea's day to day operations. With the Fate system, the system that does the summoning of Servants still defective, it was hard to summon a replacement. All in all, Da Vinci made herself too integral of a part to her Chaldea to so casually remove and thus Olga steeled herself to deal with that Servants antics that spit in the face to what any self-respecting Mage strives for.

* * *

A week prior.

"Chaldeas?" Shiori looked at the flyer that the Finnish man handed her in the subway of all places. It had been a couple of months since she got stuck in this new world of hers and she already hated this place.

Not only did she find out that her parents died in the Holy Grail War back in 2004, an alternate version of her aunt Sakura Tohsaka tried to kill her for 'making a mockery of the form of her beloved Senpai.'

Sakura nee of this world looked remarkably similar to her mother Rin even with the same black hair and blue eyes color scheme… but with one major difference. She still had her gifted bust.

The older woman calmed down quickly enough once she realized Shiori was truly the daughter of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka from another world from a DNA test and was actually really nice, but she was absolutely terrifying in her blood lusted state.

"That's the name of the organization that's more than willing to hire a young lady of your caliber," The thirty-year-old Finnish man took out a business card of some sort and handed it over to her. "You're a Magus are you not?"

Despite phrasing it as a question, it was stated as a knowing fact. He even used a spell to make a quick and simple Bounded Field in the café they were sitting at. It was a block away from the liquor store Copenhagen that her father used to work at under Taiga's friend Otoko nicknamed Neko since her name sounded like the word man in Japanese.

The red head had no idea whether or not her father worked there before in this world that she got transported to, but it was still too close for comfort. Otoko if Shirou worked for her would undoubtedly recognize Shiori as some sort of blood relative of his and ask of his whereabouts.

"More or less right, but that doesn't explain why I should accept this offer." Shiori countered dryly. She was far from impressed, why on earth would she ever consider traveling to the Antarctic of all places! That place just sounds boring as hell.

She munched on a sandwich that contained eggs, ham, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. It wasn't all that good but wasn't terrible either. Plus, beggars couldn't be choosers since this lunch was technically free, that Finnish guy must be pretty desperate to recruit her if he's willing to spend personal money on her.

The second generation Emiya noted the words Chaldeas, Animusphere family and Seraphix on the card and they sounded important. The Animuspheres were Lords of the Clock Tower, in other words they were big shots in the Mage's Association based on some of the politics she heard her mother tried to teach before in the hopes Shiori would one day become a professional Magus one day and succeed her.

"W-well, there's numerous benefits like being introduced to prominent Magi and having the Animusphere family sponsor your tuition for the Mage's Association or perhaps even Atlas." Dalton Aatos stammered.

Shiori merely narrowed her eyes at him and nearly crushed the sandwich that she was munching on like a hamster. She was not impressed by the offer that he gave in the slightest, she was not like her brother Ritsuka who wished to be a Magus. The teenaged girl was more than content with being a mere civilian and the fact that this man implied that there was something wrong with that already put her in a sour mood.

That reward that he offered worked most of the time for the civilian sector of Magi. Just like regular tuition, it was expensive to enroll in the Clock Tower and it was rather difficult for oriental families to get a foot in the door unless they were head and shoulders above their western peers.

Even those who were not convinced by the offer at least looked intrigued and gave it some contemplation. Ultimately, the Clock Tower and the United Nations rounded up a fairly substantial number of Mages and Civilians with Magic Circuits to become Master Candidates. For the most part, their jobs were done and the recruitment of those of the civilian sector was merely being gratuitous.

Dalton Aatos stood up and smoothed out his suit. "Well… if you ever change your mind, you have my card." Picking up his business case with a lock and handcuffed to his arm he bid the girl farewell. "I hope you do change your decision, however, miss… I'm terribly sorry, I never asked for your name."

"O-oh, I'm R-Ritsuka Fujimaru." It was her turn to stammer this time. Shiori felt a little dirty using her younger twin's name as an alias but she was well aware that the Tohsaka and Emiya name were rather dangerous to use and thus with hypnotism, she made this new identity for herself with the first name that came to mind.

Unlike Shiori which meant lithe and thus had a feminine quality to it, Ritsuka was rather unisexual as far as names go. Fujimaru was a distorted version of Fujimura which her friend Raika had but the Fujimura Group existed in this world as well, so the red head didn't wish to have any misleading ties to a Yakuza group either even if she liked those guys.

She didn't like using this name even if she didn't hate the way it sounded. The reason why she used Ritsuka Fujimaru instead of any random name she came up with on the fly is simply due to how natural it was for her.

She grew up hearing her brother's name being spoken around her and the Fuji part of Fujimaru as well, even if that name was simply an alias, she will still respond and react naturally to Ritsuka Fujimaru.

"As I said, hopefully I will hear from you young lady." He tipped his hat and left the café. The windchime making a huge ruckus which annoyed half the customers.

Shiori finished the sandwich and her coffee within three minutes and wiped her mouth with a napkin dipped in hot water. Making sure her mouth was dry, she reached into her chest pocket between her shirt and blazer and pulled out two necklaces.

One was the Jeweled Sword Pendant that her mother was working on, the defective little thing that sent her here in the first place even if it was the red head's fault for prematurely touching it.

The other was a bright red gem cut in the shape of a triangle and had a silver dual clamshell type loop that held said gem in place. This world's Tohsaka's family jewel that held over one hundred- and twenty-years' worth of Magical energy.

In other worlds, it would have been depleted to heal a certain hero of justice's heart and summon a certain red clad Counter Guardian but in this one had a Prana reservoir left untouched.

* * *

Minato was in his room holding his finished Mystic Code with one hand and running his other hand across the side. It had taken quite a while to make despite being made of materials that didn't need to be altered much like his Nihil Spear.

It was a risk using that Void type item since it cannot be replaced easily and he himself only had a finite amount of them to use. The only way he and the rest of SEES could get these Nihil Weapons was when Tartarus was unstable and thus rarer Shadows are sucked into the gigantic tower.

The Fool didn't know the specifics and he didn't want to know what it meant for a spatial time anomaly is unstable and why a weapon that represents 'the picture of the void before the creation of the world' can only be found during that time.

There are some things in life that are better left unanswered.

That being the case, after getting some help from his 'Master' Da Vinci, Minato should have known that that person would have gone overboard with his Mystic Code's design despite only asking him/her opinion regarding it.

Needless to say, there had been a difference of opinion that arose which needed an outside arbiter to settle.

Normally Minato was the type of person that went with the flow and simply did what people told him to do but the teenaged Persona User actually put his foot down regarding his choice in weaponry. Since he had to rely on said weapon to ensure his victory and life, he felt that he knew what's best for him.

Da Vinci loved to make items as complex as she/he can and felt entitled to have a right regarding her/his student's little project and decided to but in more than what was anticipated.

And thus, Romani had to step in to stop the constant back and forth from the instructor and student disagreement. It became clear that Romani would cave to Da Vinci and thus the doctor in turn introduced the pair to someone he talked with on a regular basis online called Magi*Mari.

Minato didn't know why but he instinctively knew that the person behind the screen of text was another male, he had no evidence, but he trusted his gut on the matter. 'She' was a he, just like a certain Caster Servant that was teaching him the ways of Mage-Craft.

Well, now all that is left is to actually test it's effectiveness in live combat. Luckily for him Chaldea had some training tests that Master Candidates go through to evaluate any way. Might as well knock it out of the way in his spare time.

* * *

**Base Sequence: Human Genome confirmed. Deviations to Human Genome is within acceptable parameters.**

**Alignment: Lawful Good.**

Minato raised an eyebrow at the feminine monotone computer reading out his characteristics. He heard the hushed whispers of the staff working the machinery and analyzing said information.

The Fool wasn't surprised that there was deviations to the normal Human Genome within his body, the people within his old world evolved differently compared to the ones that lived here.

The Humans native to this world evolved solely through the workings of this Gaia, the literal spirit of Earth but that wasn't the case for him.

Mitsuru had professionals that worked for her family search through all of Ikutsuki's private computer files to find out more of the Prophecy of the Fall, Death and Nyx.

The lifeforms of his Earth, his Gaia if it existed, evolved through the wave-like psyche of Nyx when she crashed into the planet and accidentally bestowed the concept of death to the planet and it's inhabitants. The life of every multi-cellular organism probably evolved around both the influence of Gaia and Nyx whose damaged body became the moon.

Quite frankly, it's a miracle upon miracle that life evolved to be roughly the same despite the vastly different set of circumstances. That and Death had changed his body after being sealed within him for ten years. If the Fool had to describe it then it would be like Death was the tea leaves and his body was water, his soul and body absorbed the aspects that Death embodied.

"Master Candidate Number 01 Minato Arisato." One of the staffs projected his voice through the speakers. "Combat testing part one shall now commence."

He merely nodded. Normally most Master Candidates did a simulated battle, but the Persona User requested something more… tangible for his purposes. It took some convincing but when the director Olga was informed of his desire to test out his Mystic Code, she gave the ok.

He'll try to keep the damages to a minimal, but this was a training center that housed Golems created for testing. This was a place that was made with potential damages occurring in mind.

BOOM!

BOOM!

CRRCK!

Every step this black golem took dented the reinforced metal that the floor was made of and it was obnoxious to hear.

It wasn't particularly big, a rather small Golem compared to what he had studied on, but that thing was a solid fifteen feet tall made of obsidian.

Smaller than some variety of the Shadows that he fought in Tartarus, the Gigas and Knight variety come to mind in particular.

"_This body, was bathed and reborn in Fire."_ Minato intoned. "Heat Riser." His Circuits glowed blue signaling their activation and his body erupted with pillars of red orange, purple and green light simultaneously almost blinding the staff members if it wasn't for the monitors already dimming the screen to bearable amounts.

Heat Riser, a spell that he created based on the spells that his Personas used in the past. A combination of all the Kaja based buffs that he used to give himself to boost his physical attributes past the slight but noticeable increase that an awakened Persona User gets compared to regular people.

It was a similar but fundamentally different spell from a complete full-body Reinforcement. Reinforcement was an enhancement that was inwardly driven that improves not only the physical attributes but even the concepts within said object.

The Kaja spells on the other hand were outwardly driven, instead of enhancing the body directly, it forms a sort of field around the body like armor and power suits. It was far safer to cast than Reinforcement, but it also had fewer potential benefits, his eyes won't get enhanced like Reinforcement and it can't be used directly on to a foreign object that he doesn't have physical contact with or doesn't possess some sort of consciousness like a Shadow possessing them.

That was something that he noticed upon research of the Third Magic the Heaven's Feel, the power of the soul's materialization and the ability to manipulate the soul beyond the physical plane. While it bears similar abilities to Persona, it was obviously a separate type of power and thus beyond his reach to use.

Though said similarities might make him be more compatible with that lost Magic. The point was, Heat Riser, A Persona based spell was fundamentally different from Mage-Craft Reinforcement because of the difference between the two sets of powers.

Though Persona was similar to the Third Magic, it also had some similarities to Psychic powers. That was most likely why the Kaja spells took the form of barriers like the Psychic powers of certain animes. While Mage-Craft can be taught, no amount of training would make a Persona User, it's a trait that one either has or don't.

Cracking his neck and stretching, Minato got into a runner's starting position with one hand on the ground and the other hand holding his Mystic Code staff. His right leg was bent forward with his body leaning downwards so the knee would roughly be around the same general area as his elbows. His left leg was stretched outward with the toes bent like a spring just waiting to be sprung. His whole body was tight and taut, muscles coiled like a leopard just before pouncing on an unsuspecting prey.

The blue haired male closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before exhaling. He repeated that breathing practice a few more times before opening his silver eyes to look at the stone creation. Minato wasn't sure if he was performing this breathing and walking technique properly where the whole body through absorbs the life energy of the outer world and connect it to one's inner one. In any case, he only performed the breathing exercise to get into a more serious mindset for the mock battle.

The Golem to got into something of a preparation to start as well and Minato knew play time was over.

"Begin!" A loud bell gave the signal to start and within a blink of an eye Minato launched himself like a propelled rocket towards the artificial creation of black stone.

Schrck!

Like the Golem from simply walking around earlier, that burst of movement from Minato was enough to rip some metallic panels off the floor.

Casually breaking the sound barrier, he ducked from the obviously choregraphed starting downward blow of the giant, rolling in between the gap of its legs. That was the coalescence of the countless battles with the Shadows, Minato Arisato could tell the direction and speed of an attack before the enemy launches it. It was a necessary skill to last the whole hour with the Dark Hour's draining effect.

The punched created a gigantic crater with the width of six feet and a ten-inch depth. The noise was hard to listen to as always but dealing with it was a minor thing since he entered the mindset of live combat. A dust cloud formed, and the Fool instinctively stopped inhaling the air and blown the air debris with a Garu spell. It was strange… using Prana through Circuits was different from the mental fatigue that comes with using a Persona.

The roar of beast type Shadows and the bullet shots from the Reaper itself didn't make the Fool freeze in place than neither will that loud metallic crunch. The raw power of the Golem was uncomparable to a normal human but that's to be expected of a creation of man made to do tasks that they are physically incapable of doing.

"Awaken, Nihility." The Mystic Code activated in a flash of blue light. A rather unoriginal name considering a part of it used a Nihil Weapon in its construction, but Da Vinci wasn't having it.

In the midst of turning, the Golem had a huge chunk of one of it's legs smashed off from a casual back swing from the former Vessel of Death.

It was surprising just how brittle stone like obsidian was and Minato was sure that it was enhanced with Mage-Craft too.

It crumpled to the ground unceremoniously. The cracks on that leg made it next to impossible for that Golem to stand without the high possibility of that leg shattering from being unable to support its own weight.

It was incapable of roaring but the pre-programmed orders that the Golem was loaded with ensured that the mindless construct will stop at nothing to achieve it. After all, A Golem does not think, does not fear and wasn't even alive.

"_The world, creation is born from the darkness of the void."_ Minato chanted and quickly hopped back to a safe distance away from the Golem's hand that took a swipe at him.

The staff glowed once more but this time, the black lustrous wood started to shake and deform from the perfect straightness that the Nihil Spear was shaped as. Like a tree growing, the wood moved like it was a living organism, molding, folding and merging back into itself like a vicarious thick liquid until it settled on a serviceable form.

The staff had considerably shortened but the mass had traveled to the top of the Mystic Code and became another type of weapon.

A two-handed war mace. Technically one-handed but it had more length compared to typical one-handed weapons allowing both hands to be used for more powers in the blow.

The wood hardened into diamond as a striking head with metal spikes of an unknown substance, the same type of metal found in the Nihil Spear.

Gripping the mace, the same way as Junpei uses his katana, in other words the same way as a baseball bat, The Fool let out a grunt and a mild battle cry. "Ha!"

He swung the blunt weapon in an improvised swing and knocked the arm that tried to grab and crush him.

A sound similar to glass shattering was heard. The fragments of black glassy rocks broke into a thousand chunks and hit the ground with a ping.

Some broke into parts so fine that it resembled powder and flew in the opposite direction and landed all over his torso and face. If he wasn't under the effects of Heat Riser and it's force-fields as a byproduct then the particles would have gotten into his eyes and lungs. Huh, he supposed he found one potential benefit that Reinforcement couldn't perform.

Resting the transformed mace on his shoulder, Minato walked up and casually stepped on the remaining fist of the golem. It took quite a bit of effort, but the gigantic striking limb was pinned under his enhanced strength.

It was not going anywhere, just for a bit of insurance, the very first Master Candidate, first one chosen for the mission anyway nearly crushed the fist into fine powder like the first arm he smashed. It was shocking just how brittle Golems were if it was constructed with cheap materials. He could cut Chaldea some slack seeing it was a training Golem and thus meant for regular use, but it cracked just from his strength alone even if it was enhanced by a semi-original spell.

There were other Persona Users capable of Kaja spells but as far as the Mages are concerned, this was a unique spell that he created.

Breathing in on last time, he raised the Mystic Code above his head and aligned it with the head of the Golem.

Staring at the soulless construct, he brought down the deadly instrument with full-force for the first time in this 'fight'.

Not very impressed but Minato was under the impression that this particular Golem was the bottom of the barrel and was a mass-produced unit of some sorts.

* * *

Da Vinci was a curious person by nature, when the world considered dissecting human bodies to learn about its functions unholy, he was the one who had the drive and desire to learn more. That quality of faith was what he found to be particularly annoying, while he had no issues with believers, that readiness to choose to be self-ignorant was simply astounding.

That was why he considered science to be greater than mysteries, that was why he valued it more than Mage-Craft, the laws that now define the world and its allowance to be spread amongst the masses.

And thus, he took a little break to observe her cute little student's live testing of their Mystic Code. Technically Minato's only seeing it was made so only he could use it, but the Servant had a large hand in its creation… alongside that Magi*Mari person Roman talks to a near daily basis.

There was also another goal she went to accomplish with the director as well, which was a success that hardly need any convincing from the director. That little girl was still weighing what future 'use' she could get from the man who possessed a Magic Core and thus easily acquiesced to Da Vinci's reasoning.

Fou reacted rather violently when hearing Magi*Mari's voice and chewed a chunk off of Romani's personal monitor much to the man's dismay. The squirrel cat dog thing promptly behaved itself when Mash threatened to not feed it later.

"…That was rather anti-climactic." He/she stated. The fight, if you could even call it that was over within a minute and only the shape-shifting and composition altering properties.

"Well Da Vinci san," Mash held Fou in her lap feeding it some sort of dried jerky. "I think it's impressive that Senpai ended it so quickly, his movement was really fast."

She had a look of a humble excitedness, She had thought of Minato Senpai to be a dependable man in their first meeting and this was proof that the Designer Child was right.

"Hmmm," The Caster class Servant hummed suggestively. "Is this just honest praise or is it because of your… results in the simulation earlier?" The Servant had that delectable reddened and shamed expression saved on her Cameral made with her Item Construction skill… and that wasn't going anywhere except a physical photograph. Like the picture of the expression of her new student, that would make a most exquisite portrait once Da Vinci has a stroke of genius inspiration.

Mash blushed at the reminder, the Golem in the simulation crushed her… figuratively and verrrry literally. Fou licked the tip of her index finger sympathetically… and because it still tasted like the beef jerky from earlier.

The Lavender haired girl knew that she was likely not going to do well against the stone giants simulated or otherwise, but she was embarrassed about it, nonetheless.

Her body while capable of matching or surpassing the best crafted Homunculus, was rather weak physically. Whether it be a flaw in her design or staying in a quarantined environment her whole life, Mash was unable to pull off even a single sit up.

Taking that into consideration, being defeated so ignobly was only to be expected but… Mash Kyrielight couldn't even last more than five second once the simulation started. She just wanted to forget that ever happened but choosing to simply forget about it was proving much more difficult than what people say.

"What is your thoughts on this Lev?" Da Vinci asked the green clad man standing with the other staff members. That top hat wearing Magus was only here to do the routine check up on Chaldea's system like usual since he enjoyed playing the role of being a mere engineer for some reason, but he became rooted at the form of the blue haired man on the monitors.

The normally calm and jolly man was silent, uncharacteristically so.

The Caster Servant didn't know why but the man seemed rather…different lately and it put him/her on edge. She couldn't explain it and his mannerisms were the same but even so, something was off about him.

As much as she disliked simply relying on her instincts, whenever it did speak, Leonardo at least gave it the common courtesy of listening.

"…This is the man that Olga is interested in, correct?" Lev Lainur spoke more to himself than anyone else. He didn't answer the question either. "I wonder… is this simply fate, the will of the world or perhaps something more?" He narrowed his eyes at the younger man one last time before simply and swiftly turning on his heels and exiting the room.

"He seemed stressed, Da Vinci," Mash said worriedly. "I hope the director isn't overworking him." Olga relied on Lev a lot and she hoped that he isn't biting off more than he could handle just because of that dependency.

* * *

Exiting the training area, he was interested with the idle chatter of the staff members. Perhaps they were more impressed with his performance than he expected.

Some green clad Magnus with a ridiculous top hat brushed past him and accidentally shoved the Persona User with his shoulder. His sense of style was rather archaic, but the Fool supposed that Mages by nature are archaic, so it didn't feel so out of place with that thought in consideration.

But even so, hearing that most of them don't have a computer of some sorts or access to the internet was quite the shock to the Japanese teen. It was mind boggling for him to imagine someone intentionally denying themselves access to such a useful resource.

"Ah, please forgive me." The brown-haired Magus apologized courteously. The apology seemed genuine enough that Minato simply shrugged it off, it wasn't that big of a deal. Certainly not a big enough to muster energy to become annoyed.

That and he still held that Enforcer that he encountered on a regular basis Alexis Auburns to be the standard for most Magi so this one was downright well-mannered by comparison.

"Sure, no problem." Minato shrugged placing his hands in his pocket. With that, the man briskly walked away.

**BABUMP!**

**BABUMP!**

His heartbeat intensified, Minato clasped his heart and buckled a bit from the surprise. The sensation faded quickly enough but it was still a cause for concern. Was it a heart attack in the making or simply heart burn?

One was serious and the other was just a passing annoyance that will fade away in a moment or two.

"**I'd watch my back when he's around if I were you, Fool."** Lucifer said sounding smugly amused.

The Persona User grunted in agreement and walked into the monitoring room to ask for a copy of the testing footage. It was more to see if his form and stance was still in combat ready parameters, without a doubt his muscles loss some of its reflexes from neglecting them in favor of learning Mage-Craft as a new skill.

Minato took what Lucifer said with a grain of salt most of the time, that Persona was called the father of lies for a reason, but the failed Messiah acknowledged that point. Something was off about that top hat wearing man, he caused the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck to raise. Whether it was typical Magus fake politeness and political games or something else remains to be seen, he didn't trust his instincts in any case. He failed to notice Ikutsuki's true nature when he counted on it and he doubted Dr Romani when that man had been nothing but helpful to him.

That doctor even told him that he took the Persona User's blood during his initial examination without his permission, even if it was after the fact.

The blue haired couldn't even be mad at the man, the supposed regeneration of his was not something that could be ignored. Especially from the point of view of a doctor whose very purpose was to save as much lives they physically can with their knowledge.

There was something rather instinctual about allowing the good doctor to examine that tainted blood of his, as if it was in his inner nature to wish to save some one. Or perhaps it was due to what the Fool had just gone through before coming to this world that made him more sentimental and sympathetic.

In either case, if his regeneration abilities could become a cure for a downtrodden hopeless person then it would be fine. Even if it was on a small scale due to the seriousness the organization here wishes to keep the supernatural aspects hidden.

"That was amazing, Senpai." Mash clapped with her fingers pointed at opposite direction and was positioned to be at her right thigh as she sat down with Fou.

"Fou, Fou, Fou." The white fluffy creature didn't sound all that impressed. 'That was a bit bland for a fight, 5/10. Food Slave.'

"No food for you, squirrel." Minato rolled his eyes at the creature. He couldn't say he understood the creature, but he knew when he was being insulted. That dog cat squirrel thing was no Koromaru, that's for sure. That white pup was at least polite, this one didn't even possess half the manners of the Shiba Inu.

"Fou, Fou!" The dog thing barked aggressively and would have leaped at the blue haired male if the lap of Mash wasn't so comfy. 'Bitch!'

"So, what are you two doing here?" Minato raised an eyebrow and ignored the blatant insults of the animal to the best of his abilities.

That being said, Minato was a bit surprised with the presence of the two and a certain Caster class Servant in this section of the facility at this time. Leonardo had the habit of doing what he pleases and finding a way to mess with him was just that to the inventor.

The Vessel of Death was more than used to a few odd ball teachers back in Gekkoukan high school like Edogawa who actually taught him some esoteric magical history that helped him in this world. Back then Minato simply thought that the teacher was simply wasting his time teaching something that had no future application.

Besides the Arcana lessons he taught which was an interesting tid-bit due to the Fool's connection to the power of Persona that is. But who would have thought that it would eventually be useful?

As weird as Edogawa and the others were, they were limited in the scope of Minato's life. Outside of Gekkoukan, none of them had any influence on him besides 'Maya' who turned out to be his English teacher Toriumi.

Leonardo Da Vinci on the other hand lived with him or rather, he lived with Da Vinci. Being able to escape that legendary painter's realm of influence was non-existent, not even the privacy of his own room was enough.

"Oh, I took the simulation combat test before you Senpai." Mash explained; her glasses reflected the lights of the monitors in the background causing the cliché glasses glare from anime. "I wished to be the first one to take it so I wouldn't be embarrassed when compared to the other Master Candidates."

She reddened from her own reminder, that told Minato all he needed to know regarding the results. "And I can guess why you're here." Da Vinci for a genius can be quite simple in her/his mannerisms if one gets to know his/her interests.

"While I am here to see my cute little student in action," She smiled mock coyly. "There's in fact another reason why I wanted to see you, Ragazzo." It was a reasoning that would give his student a small advantage over the other Master Candidates so Minato should be praising her. He WAS the one getting special treatment from the Animusphere family after all. During the moment Olga Marie Animusphere was preoccupied with giving the clearance for his Mystic Code testing, Da Vinci Chan took it upon herself to get priority access to the relics.

Ragazzo meant boy in Italian… great, Da Vinci had a pet name to call him now.

"And that would be?" He couldn't help but ask for his/her intentions.

"Before that, how was it?" Da Vinci asked with curiosity clear in that feminine voice that sounded oddly familiar to the blue haired male and he couldn't quite figure out why. [Da Vinci and Aigis share the same Japanese Voice Actor.]

It was obvious that she was referring to the Mystic Code of his, Nihility. "It was serviceable based on this first impression, the Yggdrasil Seeds as a material was a good idea." Minato reluctantly praised the Servant.

The Nihil Weapon which held the concept of emptiness and void was merged with the seeds of the World Tree of Norse mythology which held the concept of life and creation.

The 'World' that came after creation was what the Mystic Code Nihility now represented. With the concept of life and creation now embedded into the emptiness, that gave Nihility the ability to 'grow'.

Before, a Nihil Weapon was only capable of copying a legend of his Persona and that was the cap of it's potential but now it was something different. Rather than embodying a legend, it embodied a more abstract concept and it's ability to grow further isn't set in stone yet.

"I AM a genius after all." Da Vinci smugly replied with her hands on her hips akimbo style. That simply gotten an eyeroll from the Fool as a response.

That was precisely why the Fool didn't wish to complement her, doing so would simply give the Servant an even bigger head than what she already possesses. "And what was your second reason, Da Vinci?" Minato Arisato dreaded the response, he hoped that the inventor had enough common sense to not do anything too extreme.

Common sense didn't really mean much in this world, everyone had a quirk or two in their mannerisms that made even the most normal seeming individual to be odd.

"Sure, sure," Minato agreed off-handedly. There was no need to challenge the intellect of the brilliant inventor that became a household name to the world. "Don't leave me in the dark regarding your secondary reason now."

"I'll admit that I'm interested as well." Mash reluctantly stated. She still remembered the days that Da Vinci tried to teach her Mage-Craft. No matter how much the lavender haired girl tried to forget some quite frankly embarrassing moments, her mind won't let her.

"What's this? You sound rather un-enthused, it makes me wish to keep a secret a little while longer out of spite, children." Leonardo spent all this time to tease them and garner their attention and this was the response she gets? Sometimes, she/he wondered why she bothered at all.

Right… she damn well knew the reason why, the reactions she gets at the most opportune moment was worth the extra hassle and effort in order to evoke it. Just earlier that embarrassed face of Mash was worth more than its weight in gold to the Servant,

"I think we hurt his feelings, Minato Senpai." Mash whispered despite the fact that even the weakest of Servants had stats multiple times higher than humans.

"You know she can hear you, right?" The Persona User breathed out of his nose silently. "Besides, you know that's just her bad acting. Just tell me already, or I'll lose the little interest I still have as well."

"Huh, I think that's the longest sentence I have ever heard you say outside of our lessons, Ragazzo." Da Vinci noted. The boy didn't speak much about his past or his world if he could help it, the third time he even mentioned it in passing was when Minato showed her the Nihil Weapon he possessed and wondered if it would make a suitable Mystic Code.

That was the most beautiful weapon she had ever seen; well it had the potential to be. To the artist, the Nihil Weapons are the blankest and purest canvas that could ever exist, in other words they are the physical manifestation of possibility. A shame that there were a limited number of them, and Minato was unwilling to part with even one of them to her.

The Caster wished to know a bit more of her cute student but even she had enough tact to know not to pry. But even so, the itch on her back that comes from her curiosity was particularly annoying to deal with.

"Very well," She cleared her throat dramatically. It worked well enough to get their attention solely on her. "Chaldea had gotten some resources from the Animuspheres, the Mages Association and the United Nations recently… well more than usual anyways and have procured quite a few of Catalysts for the Summoning Ritual and I, the beautiful Leonardo Da Vinci Chan had gone out of my way to get you priority access to them from the director."

"…" Minato was rendered speechless and unlike usual, it was not by choice. That was something he thought about every once in a while, would the Persona fused Weapons he possesses be considered good enough of a link to the genuine Heroic Spirits in question to be considered a catalyst?

Even if it was enough, would he even want a Servant that had a Persona Counterpart? His manifestations were changing to fit this world and thus would inherit this world's version of the legends. The Wildcard couldn't find a good reason to want a Servant that he might be able to replicate with his powers alone.

That and the weapons he found in Tartarus were worthy catalysts if his Weapon fusions prove to be too artificial of a connection to the Heroic Spirits. Aroundight, the Holy sword of the Lake wielded by Lancelot a Knight of King Arthur of legend, Minato possessed that sword walking through the Yabbashah block.

Ascalon, Dragon slaying sword of Saint George, sword he gotten from the Harabah block.

Excalibur, the strongest Holy Sword he possessed outside of the heavenly blades of the angels of God and was found in the indescribably nightmare inducing block of Monad. The strongest Shadows besides the Reaper presided there and that was where he also fought Elizabeth. She broke so many of his bones that the Fool lost count during the battle. Just thinking about it made his body convulse with phantom pain.

"Wow, that's amazing news Senpai," Mash seemed happy for him, but he was still thinking about it. Did he really need such an advantage? While it would be foolish to believe in solely the power of his Personas without even knowing what types of existences are out there, the Persona User still believed that they were superior to most Mage-Crafts branches in comparison.

The Designer child knew that Minato Senpai was getting special treatment from director Olga and that put her in a good mood. That simply meant that more and more people were realizing the worth of Minato Senpai and maybe that would be enough to build his confidence back. Mash Kyrielight noted that he kept his back slightly straighter compared to the slouch he always had but she didn't know if that meant anything.

It also made her sad, she knew the director for years and try as she might, Mash felt no closer to the slightly older woman since day one. Was she doing something wrong? Was she the problem? Mash wished that Olga would just tell her what she did that annoyed her so much. Then they could move forward and become friends.

"…Thank you, Da Vinci Sensei." Minato thanked her genuinely and even gave the teacher honorific that he very rarely used on the Servant. Regardless of the precious items he kept in his Dimensional Pocket, having first picks at the catalyst would never be a downside to him. Rather, it was precisely he had so many potential options that he will only pick a catalyst that he specifically doesn't have a potential replacement for. There were many legends and mythologies out there, no matter how expansive his soul was from the Universe, he couldn't encompass them all.

Though it was unfair to the other Master Candidates, Minato supposed he was deemed to have a higher potential worth than the others due to his so-called Magic Core. Not that it mattered, he didn't know the other Master Candidates either way so he shouldn't feel bad about putting them in a potential disadvantage.

It was something that the sketchy business man taught him in their interaction. If one waits too much, then all the potential opportunities out there in the world would be taken by others. It wasn't a matter of being selfish, it's a matter of putting himself ahead of the competition.

"Wouldn't me being Candidate 01 naturally make me the first one to have access anyways?" Thinking about it further, he due to being the first Candidate recruited by Olga's administration should theoretically make him the first on the list.

"…I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way, the Master Candidates recruited by the late Marisbury would normally have priority and all the Magus families that the Animusphere have connections with would naturally have a higher priority than some Oriental Magus from the east with no known lineage."

Ah, politics as usual. Somehow, he wasn't surprised by that reasoning. To be fair, he didn't really care what order he had to obtain a Catalyst in the first place. Even if he couldn't use his world's items as catalysts, he could always summon a Servant that he had a higher affinity with.

"So, let's get started then." Minato placed his hands back into his pant pockets, he missed his blazer already. It just feels awkward to the teen since his hands are used to a higher position as a resting place and its overall warmer in the jacket pocket as well.

* * *

After walking to the nearest elevator, Da Vinci pushed a button in the lower region and then swiped her keycard when it asked for her clearance level. The elevator was just like any other section of Chaldea, all white with no form of secondary color or decoration. It certainly made it easier to clean but it also made it bland to look at as well as any dirtiness would stand out more.

Mash was with the duo as well; she was there when they had that conversation regarding the Catalysts so she's in on the little secret as far as the Caster Servant was concerned. The Fool supposed that the relic room may as well be a museum tour to the lavender haired female.

When asked if she had a preference for what Servant she intended to summon, Mash responded that she had no idea.

"Now now Mash, that's certainly a lie" Da Vinci winked. "I'm certain that you'd prefer a certain British detective for a Servant, based on your reading habits that is."

Minato quirked an eyebrow a tad which showed his sudden interest in the matter. "When you say a 'certain British detective' you wouldn't mean Sherlock Holmes would you?" From what he read; Sherlock Holmes was beaten in a game of wits against Arsene Lupin but had his name changed to Herlock Sholmes to prevent copyright from Sherlock Holme's author Doyle.

"Ding, Ding, Ding!" The Caster tapped him on the nose with her index finger much to his annoyance. "Bull's eye on the first try from my adorable student."

"It wasn't that hard; Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most famous fictional detective." Minato shrugged. "So, an avid mystery type genre reader, Mash?" He himself wasn't a big fan of those types of fictional genres himself but he could certainly see the appeal.

"W-well, e-even if that was the case, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character. I wouldn't be able to summon him anyways." Mash protested, giving a betrayed look to Da Vinci for divulging her secret pleasures.

"And?" Minato questioned.

"And what?" The glasses clad girl didn't know how to make sense to Minato's one-word question. If there was one thing, she disliked about her Senpai, that would be his short responses that made it hard to continue the conversation.

"So, what if Sherlock Holmes is fictional?" He elaborated a bit. "While some gods have always existed, whether they be foreign to the planet or an existence worshipped and thus eventually turned into a god, gods who were created from the faith of humans alone had given them form."

That was a subject that he was well-versed in before coming to this world. Death, the artificial God created by the Kirijos, Chronos the representation of time and Zeus the King of the Gods.

_"I am Chronos… I was born from man, and accompany man on his journey… You wander an ephemeral dream… Your transience affords uncompromising power… What is your life…? What is your death…?"_

_"Close not thine eyes... Cover not thine ears... Witness... know... and stand. Oh thine own legs, stand firmly 'pon the earth!"_

"Ugh!" A sharp pain appeared from his mind. It felt like a knife was just stabbed through his skull. Where did those thoughts come from? While some of his most important Personas come from Greek mythology, what made him think of those gods?

When he did think of them, he felt a strange wall in his mind that prevent him from digging deeper into those memories. Like a glass box in a jewelry store that prevents theft of the precious stones kept inside them. His memories were those gems.

He had never met them yet… he could hear their voices as clear as day in his mind. Why was his imagination of them so vivid just now, the Wildcard didn't believe in coincidences, the voices were too vivid, almost like he heard his Personas talking. It was similar to that… but also too different to be called such.

It was hard to focus on any thoughts with that sharp pain in his head, the metaphorical knife was being harshly drilled in and twirled with malicious intent. Minato swiftly grabbed on to the side railing on the elevator cart to stop himself from falling. He breathed heavily like a runner that took his body to its full potential.

"Senpai!" Mash in a panic grabbed his free arm and supported him using his shoulder to hook around her neck as a support. "What's wrong?!"

He was seemingly just fine a moment ago. Just what changed so quickly? His mind felt hazy like a fog obscuring the morning sky after a rain.

The Designer child tip toed and placed her hand on his forehead and felt his temperature. There was nothing abnormal about it, felt normal to her not that she had much experience with that sort of thing. She had seen Romani did the same thing to her when she was a small child so Mash tried to replicate that.

"…I got a headache, Mash, I didn't suddenly contract a fever while we were on this elevator." Minato felt like he had to respond, Mash was starting to feel like Aigis to him for some reason. Though it probably had to do with the both of them are not so good with other people due to their isolation from them. Though at least Aigis had the excuse of being an Android.

In any case, he had to admit that it warmed his heart that a person actually cared about him in some capacity. He was used to being ignored by others until his second year of high school. The heaving of his chest slowed and started to stabilize; the annoying headache was also likewise begun to lessen. While it was still there, Minato found it to be bearable.

Da Vinci was silent the whole time, looking at what happened with interest and a bit of worry that was expertly hidden. She was omnipotent, in both the sciences and mysteries and as such, what happened right now was no mere happenstance.

The mind was a delicate thing, it was the very core of identity and thus brushing past barriers that the mind had set in place was dangerous.

It was all conjecture, but the Inventor had found that to be an educated guess. However, a guess not matter how educated was just that, a guess and nothing more.

* * *

Ding.

The elevator door opened causing a slight gust of wind.

What felt like the longest elevator ride in history had finally ended. With just a corner's walk away lied one of the most important resource rooms of Chaldea but the Caster wondered if her student was mentally fit to make a decision on what Catalyst to take and thus what Servant he wanted to summon.

"I'm fine, Da Vinci," Minato stated smoothly with little indication that he suffered a massive skull crushing headache a moment ago. "We already took the time to get here so we might as well finish our objective."

"I'll trust you on this, but Romani and I will check up on you later," She/He tapped her staff on the floor of the elevator cart twice. "Just for precaution's sake of course, wouldn't want our savior to suffer from mental health issues, right?"

"…Savior, huh," He mumbled that word out as if he was a child who got scolded by his mother. That said, the Persona User doubted he was in the greatest mental state as of current.

"Well in any case, here we are… Chaldea's relic room." Da Vinci took out her keycard and swiped it on the lock on the door. The intricate seals that resembled a gaudy silver Rubik's cube unlocked and the magical golden chains unwoven itself like slithering serpents from the desert.

One last cylinder lock undone itself and the door opened like a castle gate finally revealing the room to the trio.

The interior was much the same pure white like the rest of Chaldea, but the air was different. The Magical Energy was much denser, and fresher compared to the rest of the facility. If he had to compare it to something, it was like thousands of air fresheners were used at once and refused to merge together to form a brand-new scent. Layer and layers of different textures of Magical Energies merged and repelled each other in this room.

It would have been overwhelming if the Fool didn't experience the Dark hour and Velvet Room. Mash looked like she had a difficult time adjusting to the Prana leakage of said relics.

Stepping inside, Minato noted the various cultures of said relics. His Personas could identify the 'taste' of the signatures and called the ones that come from the same or nearby cultures to be 'nostalgic' to them.

There was an old light bulb that was made by Thomas Edison.

Pieces of woods that came from a shield of a Greek Hero but couldn't be identified further.

An old Katana that looked sturdy and had a solid construction.

Metal ornaments that came from the coffins of European knights of legend.

A 'sword' of European origin that resembled a club more than anything else.

A rusted piece of Japanese armor.

An old dragon scale that looked dented. As if someone punched the poor lizard a thousand times over.

A bone mask or middle eastern origin.

A crucifix.

A card of Chinese writing.

"This one," Minato picked up a piece of wood that looked like it was a part of a ship at one point. "I want this one."


	7. Initial Summoning

**Skrubstar: Thanks. Though Da Vinci's gender won't be constant, I will try and stick with one during each scene.**

**VGBlackwing: Not sure what you mean about Fou but I felt no remorse killing the Nobus. I'm still planning the ending of the Goetia fight.**

**Samuelalpha86: The club sword is Beowolf but the others are accurate. Herc's weapon is described as an Axe-Sword. Yeah, Yandere Sakura indeed.**

**Midnight49: Wow, didn't expect you to read FGO fic without completing Solomon but eh I got into RWBY through fanfic so not that unexpected. as for Ryoji... the individual known as Ryoji no longer exists, he is one with Nyx.**

**Gen2324: Pretty much on Lev. you'll see his trigger soon enough**

**EVA-Saiyajin: Prepare to be disapointed.**

**Guest: Persona Excalibur is technically on par with Fate Excalibur but Minato simply can't use the sword to it's true potential. Kinda like Gilgamesh has the Gram prototype but he isn't Sigurd who mastered that one weapon.**

**Dxhologram: Not really, he won't be surprised by the history of what is essentially a sharp metal stick when he seen Nyx's true form.**

**Doortolight47: Yup on PQ. He knows about them theoretically. Yes he could be considered a Pseudo Pseudo Servant once he recovers and can use his Personas more freely.**

**Flitterflux: That's such a minor nitpick.**

**Journey to the End: Nihility was originally some what similar to Merlin's staff but glad you like it. Nihility as it exists now is a rather new concept.**

**Heron: Wait and see.**

**Farron: without Personas, his strength is just slightly beyond Olympic athlete class humans. His parameters increase let's say 20 percent if he's in a Bounded Field since it sorta mimics the Dark Hour.**

**Benji: Maaya Sakamoto has the voice of a Goddess. Orpheus Telos sorta exists but not in the way the game portrays it. The power Orpheus receives to evolves comes from all of Minato's Social Links and thus technically that power belongs to Minato. Orpheus can become Telos if he gets Minato's permission.**

**Dp11: Actually a sane Heracles will appear in this fic... just not right now.**

**ThatidioticMelody: Thanks, I too got annoyed at people's urge to pick up the pace. I get their desire for them to have Minato kick ass and meet their favorite characters but damn, they need to chill out.**

**Tenshu: Training is a given, Luci isn't the Devil by being nice.**

**magostera: I like PQ's concept and it gave me a benchmark on where to gauge Minato's full power without using the Universe would be. Excluding the Reaper and the Denizens of the Velvet Room. the cast technically fights two gods. Zeus and Chronos.**

**Deathreapsonce: Nope but I should read up on Drake's character beyond FGO.**

**RoachVit: It aint Persona with no Gigolo!**

**Nevan: Alternate universe family sucks. Technically he can fuse a Persona into it but he's scared he might lose that Persona forever due to no Velvet Room.**

**Cryocene: There is a reason besides plot convenience but why he's in the Nasuverse is pretty random.**

**Shima: He hasn't gotten over it but Minato learned that being fixated on his past wont get him anywhere. Yeah, "Social Linking" is very important for everyone involved.**

**Notaguest: Merlin is a creep. I mean he knows the event of the Fate Route in Stay night so not surprised.**

**Nora: Wait and see.**

**SilverstormXD: I need to rewatch the interludes to start that hanging around scenes.**

**Kinaki747: Honestly, Minato is Lawful due to being the Messiah candidate and was about to become one unlike a certain led nun ahem Kiara. He's the most selfless of the three protagonists and his action serves to benefit the collective known as SEES rather than himself.**

* * *

"_Where the hell am I?" Shiori Emiya could tell that she was in the Tohsaka house living room, but it wasn't the Tohsaka living room that she was just in. she didn't know how to explain it besides it being different, the bounded fields were different and were clearly more powerful than the ones that her mother used._

_The paint on the walls were a brighter, more pristine white compared to the house she lived in and half the furniture were different from the ones she had. But even so, she knew that this was the main house of the Tohsaka family, taking a brief look outside the window confirmed her suspicions._

_The garden had the same aesthetic style as her own, the flowers might different, but the layout was the same. This was the foreigner section of Miyama town alright._

_Ugh! Shiori felt stupid for touching Rin's Mystic Code project so suddenly like that. The red headed teen should have known better than to touch a Magus' project like that but seeing her mother fail and fail again over the years made the daughter over-confident that the Jeweled Sword Pendant would be yet another failed dud._

"_Ara?" A familiar yet immeasurably cold voice chilled the second generation Emiya to the bone. "What do we have here? Yet another arrogant Magus prowling around my property?"_

_Shiori broke into a cold sweat. This voice, this feminine soft-spoken voice filled with aristocratic voice sounded so familiar and so alien to her that she couldn't make sense of it._

_It was as if walking into one's childhood home only to find the whole thing reworked and painted with a whole different color scheme._

"_S-Sakura Nee," She stammered seeing the silhouette of her aunt by the stair case. It casted a shadow over her body frame but she could tell it was Sakura. There was no mistaking that body shape anywhere._

"_**My sister is dead, gone, and rotting!"**__ Sakura spat with barely contained venom._

_Shiori took a few hesitant steps back, her heart was pounding like crazy just from her words. Not being careful, the Emiya tripped over her own heel and feel down on the rug narrowly missing the coffee table._

"_Huhh," Sakura sighed heavily. "I tried to warn Nee San that nothing good would come from coveting that pointless little cup, but she didn't listen to me." She shook her head in grief remembering Rin's mutilated form and the blood that stained her head to toe._

"_Let's take a look at you, shall we?" She asked rhetorically. The younger daughter of Tokiomi had nothing to fear, this was her territory and the moment the girl tried to use Mage-Craft with malicious intent against her will activate the bounded field._

_Noting that the intruder was in her teens, Sakura narrowed her eyes and noted the black leggings and short mini-skirt that she wore. It was something akin to what her sister Rin would wear. She hardened her eyes at that and noted that the intruder was attempting to crawl away using her legs to push away from her._

"_You invade my territory and now you try to run from me? How pathetic," She grabbed the ankle and pulled her back ignoring the protests. "In spite of your young age, don't expect any mercy from me Mag..us?"_

_Shiori didn't know why she was trying to run away but she was starting to get a bit intimidated by this younger Sakura. Every word she uttered made the back of her neck hairs stand up with goose bumps._

_The grip on her ankle was harsh, just a tad short of actually breaking it. She squirmed but Sakura was not letting go._

_Opening her eyes, Shiori peeked at her aunt's expression. The older woman's eyes were almost bulging out from shock and her mouth was opened mid-way as if her mind didn't compute what it was seeing._

_Shiori noted that her aunt didn't have her iconic plum purple colored hair or eyes. If anything, she looked just like her mother Rin besides the hair style. With black hair black as night and eyes of the clearest sapphires, Sakura looked befitting of the Tohsaka family who had the blood of European ancestors in their veins._

_Also, it appears that Sakura was younger than the one she knew. The Sakura Matou she knew was in her early thirties but this one was in her Mid to late twenties. A slight but very meaningful difference, that gave the red-haired teenager a relative time frame of where she was._

"_That form," Sakura Tohsaka whispered as if she was out of breath. The grip she had on Shiori's ankle loosened enough to the point she could simply yank it out of the older woman's grip. And the red-haired girl with the alias of Ritsuka Fujimaru did just that._

"_Ugh! That hurts!" She whined like a child. She rubbed her dainty little ankle to ease the pain. "Why would you do that?" She protested sounding younger than she should behave._

_Feeling justified in her protest, that made Shiori irritated which stoked the rich Tohsaka blood that she inherited from Rin Tohsaka. In other words, she inherited her mother's short temper as well._

_Despite that, that vitriol and burst of energy died down in an instant the moment she remade eye contact with the younger version of Sakura._

_The sheer venom and hatred that the woman had in her gaze chilled her blood._

"_That Form!" There was but one person that Sakura knew that had that red flame like hair and amber eyes._

"_Sakura Nee?"_

"_How dare you appear in front of me in that form?!" Sakura yelled and finally lost the last of her aristocratic tone and screeched at her like a possessed harpy. "Why! Why must you torment me like this?!"_

**Announcement: **

**Base Sequence: Human Genome confirmed.**

**Alignment: Lawful-Neutral.**

**Welcome to the data center for the center of humankind. This is the Security Organization for the preservation of Humanity, Chaldea.**

**Fingerprint, voiceprint, and DNA authentication cleared. Magical Circuit assessment completed.**

**Username matched.**

**You are recognized as a member of the primates. Nice to meet you.**

Shiori Emiya decided to join this Chaldea organization despite her initial distaste towards the offer that that United Nations representative offered. To be honest, the teen still didn't find that offer to be appealing to her, at the end of the day, she wasn't all that interested in being Magus and had never been.

Much to her mother's disappointment, the only thing that Mage-Craft offered her were the practical applications that made daily life easier. In that sense, the blood descendant of the prestigious Tohsakas was nothing more than what the Moonlit world referred to as a "Spell Caster."

The only reason she was here was ironically to join to Clock Tower which contradicted her earlier reactions to Dalton Aatos_._ She still wasn't interested in expanding her knowledge of the Magical Arts but the second generation Emiya realized that the Clock Tower held the easiest way for her to get back to her native world.

Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Magician of the Second True Magic Kaleidoscope. The operation of Parallel worlds, if Rin's Jeweled Sword Pendant was based on the Second Magic and used a fraction of it's powers, then surely the genuine article could send her back.

The red headed girl was more than aware that the centuries old Dead Apostle was a rather nomadic creature based on all rants filled of rage, frustration and vitriol her mother Rin had in her apprenticeship with the former man but it was worth the shot. There were other ways to travel through parallel worlds besides the use of the Second Magic, but it was without a doubt the safest and most accurate way of doing so.

As the daughter of both his apprentice Rin Tohsaka and his supposedly favorite prank receiver Shirou Emiya, Shiori had enough of a good connection through affiliation to Zelretch. Now, all she needs is to get her foot through the door to actually get the opportunity to meet the vampire and that first step is ironically, the Mage's Association.

The same place that Ritsuka Tohaska her idiotic younger twin was planning to go to next year under the tuition of a Lord named Lord El-Melloi II or something. If that black haired and blue-eyed brother of hers were physically here right now, then he probably would be teeming with jealousy. And to be completely honest, she wouldn't blame him if that was truly the case.

He, despite not having the correct affinities for the Tohsaka Mage-Craft or father's Tracing was a far more serious Mage than she ever was. What an ironic twist of fate, she would be the one to show tremendous promise with both her parent's craft and not be interested in pursuing it. Meanwhile, the man known as Ritsuka Tohsaka would be inept with centuries worth of Magical Research was more passionate in adding to it with his own contributions.

**You're our final visitor today. We hope you enjoy your time here.**

Oh, she doubted it. Why in the name of the Root would she enjoy her time in the backwards land of Antarctica? Despite trying to see if she could create a new religion based on worshipping the Root out of sheer curiosity, it actually seemed more popular with regular people than actual Mages.

Then again, most if not all Mages tend to stay away from technology and especially the internet. To be honest, Shiori didn't know why she tried to create or influence the formation of a cult based on the storage place of information, the Akashic Records. When she was younger, around twelve or so, Shiori had a strange teacher in Homurahara middle school that was interested in teaching the occult.

The so-called teacher didn't last long before getting fired but that unkempt man managed to get her interested in the occult for a little while and that caused a short-term fascination with the birth of cults and religion before that interested faded once the freshness of the situation worn out.

She vaguely recalled that teacher's name to be Michio Edogawa or something along those lines. He got fired from his previous job due to feeding strange medicines and concoctions to the sudent body or something.

**Announcement:**

**We are very sorry, Another estimated one hundred and eighty seconds is needed to complete the admission process.**

Ugh, more waiting! She was never the most patient of individuals much like that mother of hers, but three minutes wasn't THAT long of a wait and thus she sucked it up and dealt with it like an adult.

**Please enjoy a simulated battle while you wait.**

**Regulations: Senior**

**Contracted Servants: Saber, Lancer, Archer.**

Saber, Lancer and Archer like the Servant classes of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars? Shiori had heard of them but she never experienced seeing a Heroic Spirit in the flesh personally. The Fifth Holy Grail War that her parents participated in was rarely spoken of and despite her rampant curiosity of how her parents met each other, the red headed girl respected their privacy.

And also, the First Fuyuki Holy Grail War of 2004 that occurred in this world eleven years ago, the same war that claimed the lives of her alternate versions of her parents. The Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka of this world.

**There will be no record of your score. Please feel free to enjoy.**

As if, knowing that her parents lost their lives in that event didn't do her any favors. Even if they weren't the Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka she knew, they were still her precious parents. Naturally seeing the types of being that claimed their lives, even in a simulation was a bit nerve wracking. Not as nerve wracking as seeing her beloved and normally gentle and sweet aunt go full blown crazy blood lusted but still.

**Activating Heroic Spirit Summoning System Fate. We hope you have a good experience as a Master for these one hundred and eighty seconds.**

She wanted to roll her eyes; those three minutes could have been done already without this little mock simulated battle. Well, for better or for worse she was in it for the long haul for the Chaldea organization and a lackey for the Animusphere family. Ugh, this seems so troublesome to her.

* * *

Minato tossed the wood Catalyst into the air and caught again, it was much harder and denser than what he expected. Though to be fair, it was basically a magical piece of wood so common sense should not be expected to an extent.

"…Oh, that Catalyst I see," Da Vinci nodded to herself. "Well… it's a pretty general Catalyst tied to many heroes and high-quality ones too."

He did not know why he picked this out of all the potential choices around but there was something… special about this piece of wood. Not special in a mystical sense but special in a way that speaks to his flesh and soul, to the very fiber of his being that the other relics couldn't do.

"Do you know what heroes this Catalyst is tied to, Da Vinci?" Mash questioned. The Magical energy was different from what she was used to in quality and density. As expected of a relic from the Age of the Gods.

"Maybe, perhaps not." Da Vinci shrugged. It was obvious that she knew EXACTLY what that Catalyst was, everything within this room had been verified countless times to ensure the legitimacy and thus the justification of spending who knows the unseemly amount of money and resources to acquire them.

"This is payback for not being interested in your offer earlier, isn't it?" Mash questioned but this time with a hint of a tired resignation.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that." The inventor hummed.

"Well then… I suppose I'm quite literally gambling with my life on the line using this then," The Fool chuckled softly. "Sounds fun."

The others found the humor of to be a bit on the dark side. Mash in particular didn't like the amusement in his voice, joke or not. She noted that her Senpai had a rather noticeable detachment to his own well-being and it reflected in his humor.

"That isn't funny, Senpai." She bit her lip giving him the most adorable frown he had ever laid eyes on and that was saying something. He lived with Fuuka for quite some time back then, Yukari tried to give him the puppy dog eyes to get the Fool to buy something for her but to no avail.

Mash was a perfectly sculpted doll or statue that was made of flesh. That was the impression the Persona User got from her, if it wasn't the fact that she was so alive in comparison to the artificial Homunculi made from the arts of Alchemy then Minato Arisato would have confused her with one.

"…" The Fool was rendered speechless. He was rather weak towards the wills of quiet and meek women turned pushy, it was rather unexpected compared to louder or stronger willed women like perhaps Yukari or Mitsuru.

"…Right," He had the decency to actually look a tad bit embarrassed when facing the Designer child's stubborn and heated will.

"Fou, Kyu, Fou." The white creature barked at him with annoyance clear in its vocalizations. 'nice one, dumbass.'

"Sorry about that," He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Why don't you perform a Summoning with me?" Minato asked with a hint of curiosity. Mash was going to be forced to summon a Servant as her partner and guardian sooner or later, why not do it now as an example for him.

He knew the Summoning spell and chant by heart, but Mash probably actually practiced it before. Whether it be from before or after he got stuck in this world. Having a demonstration would do him some good.

"…I'm not sure if the FATE System could handle one summoning much less two, Minato Senpai."

That was certainly true, the so-called Heroic Spirit summoning system known as FATE was technically a success but there's no denying that the system was terribly flawed and broken. The fact that it could summon existences that can only be called legends incarnated made flesh was a success in of itself but there was a reason why the Caster known as Leonardo Da Vinci was the only Servant of Chaldea at the moment.

Out of the hundreds of times the FATE system was used, only Da Vinci answered the summons. The success rate was really largely up to luck whether it succeeded or not.

But Minato Arisato didn't care about the success rate, as long as it wasn't zero percent. He'll keep trying and trying till it connects. With that out of the way, the blue haired teenager walked up to yet another wood-based Catalyst and casually tossed it to Mash's general location.

He made sure it was slow enough that the girl could see and anticipate it, last thing he wanted was to accidentally bruise a pretty girl's face. That would just leave a bitter taste in his mouth. Even if he knew some potent healing spells, the act itself was staining on his honor as a man.

"…But this is-" The girl started but cut herself off by observing the relic she just caught. Mash turned the Catalyst in her hands with a faint hint of curiosity.

The Wood Catalyst that he just tossed Mash was different from his, his looked like it was a part of a ship at one point. Hers was smoother, more polished in comparison. It was obviously made with the purpose of becoming furniture of some sort based on the rounded edge. Like a table or something, a round table.

"Come on," He drawled. "You've been with Da Vinci and me this far, might as well go the full nine yards."

"Full nine yards?" Mash simply looked confused at the phrase. Having been raised by Chaldea her whole life, most of the sayings and phrases people used were confusing to her.

"It means, all the way or the whole lot," Minato explained. "It's an American English phrase, I grew up in Seattle for half my life so… I suppose the local lingo sort of rubbed off on me."

"It basically means, you're our little accomplice." Da Vinci said in a sing-song voice. "No, backing out on us now."

"Da Vinci, you can't possibly be agreeing with Senpai on this," She protested meekly. "The director only gave access for Minato Senpai to have a Catalyst."

If she could hear that weak quality in her voice than the other two definitely can. She could tell that with just a bit more forcefulness in their approach would be enough to convince herself to join in their madness.

"Never said you can't perform the summoning ritual." The Caster countered off-handedly. "If anything, we could put that scrap wood right back after we're done with it."

The master and student duo gave one look at each other filled with purpose and nodded. Mash gulped, that wasn't a good sign.

They then turned their gaze back on her, Da Vinci had a knowing smile on her face and Minato had that blank expression as always. She gave them a nervous smile in turn; this really wasn't a good sign.

* * *

"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the Archduke of contracts be the foundation, a champion to defend Humanity's future, I call upon thee." Mash Kyrielight started the incantation, imagining a needle being inserted into her veins which was the trigger to activate her Magical Circuits.

Da Vinci and Minato watched the process with interested eyes, the Fool especially paid close attention to get a feel of the tone and atmosphere the incantation caused. If he had to compare it to anything then it was fairly similar to religious sermons that he had been forced to attend to back in America.

"Let rise a wall against a wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the kingdom rotate." Mash continued the chant that she practiced her whole life. It was supposed to be second nature to her by now, but it was far different now that she was performing it with intent instead of simply practice.

She almost bit her tongue performing the spell a few lines back. Her heart was pounding heavily with her mind racing a million miles a minute thinking about the Servant she was supposedly summoning.

The summoning circle turned a bright blue in response to her spell but no one, not even her own self got excited by it. The bugs in the FATE system made it next to impossible to expect a successful summoning.

Admittedly, for all the complexity that the summoning ritual was, the Chaldea version of the spell was actually a simplified version of the one used in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War.

"let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer if you would submit to this will and this truth." A cool breeze was formed as a by-product of the Magical Energy moving from the will of the caster.

Most of the ritual such as the creation of the magic circle is already a part of the FATE system. Normal Mages in normal Grail Wars would have to create the Magic Circle every time for a summoning attempt but the circle created for the FATE system can be used over and over again indefinitely.

Instead of using the usual liquid mana solution or gems to feed the ritual, Mash used a Summoning ticket that she acquired from Da Vinci to conduct this spell that they basically forced her to do. This Summoning ticket was used as a substitute for the three Saint Quartz that FATE system was made to run on.

In other words, the ticket was a substitute for a substitute. She personally found the ticket to be rather beautiful in its sheen and glow, so it was an almost reluctant use of it for the girl.

But even she found its creation to be genius, how did the research staff in the lab managed to create an alternate source to power the ritual was beyond her. At the end of the day, she was created to be an organism with the most Magical Circuits possible and them to be of the highest possible quality.

But she was not made to be a true Magus, in the eyes of the previous director, the existence known as Mash Kyrielight was nothing more than a battery of Magical energy. She didn't even know what the current director Olga Marie thought of her, she hoped that they could be friends or perhaps just acquaintances, but that dream seemed pretty distant.

Leonardo Da Vinci started to frown; the ritual seemed to be performing regularly to the average eye, but he knew better. He was a Caster Servant of the highest quality; he was not known as omnipotent by the Mages of the Clock Tower of his time for no reason.

The fluctuations of the Magical energy was slight, but he could see it plain as day, as an existence made of Prana, Leonardo Da Vinci was akin to a fish reacting to the changes in the water it lives in. Humans could swim in water if they chose to, but they could not understand it like the animals that lived and breathe that water every single day of their existence.

That was the difference between a Magus and a Servant, especially one of the Caster class.

"An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of the Heavens; I shall have the dominion over all the evils of Hell. From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, protector of the holy balance."

The moment the lines of the ritual were completed, the light exploded releasing a soft explosion that blinded the three individuals in the chamber. If this was performed in the Workshop of a Magus, then all of their tomes and their research papers would have been blown away by the sheer force the wind created from the ritual.

What was but a small gust of cool wind had turned in to a storm on par with an industrial sized fan.

The light faded into the void and the wind eventually died down, Mash and Minato turned their gaze back on to summoning circle. They shouldn't get their hopes up since the FATE system has a success rate lower than one percent, but they couldn't help but anticipate the end result.

Da Vinci simply shook her head, this was the expected result that they expected but the inventor supposed it was worth a shot.

* * *

Nothing, no Servant responded to the summoning. The light of the circle returned to it's default settings and the chamber was silent. Even the Caster who never seemed to have a bad day looked a bit bummed out. The Persona User looked at the magical circle with such an intense focus that surprised the Designer child.

"…No one came," Mash sighed dejectedly. The Prana stored in that Summoning Ticket was wasted, while she had no intentions of performing the ritual even half an hour ago, the chance to meet someone was a thrill concept to the teen.

"It's within expectations," Leonardo shrugged. "Well, the Catalyst can be used again so it's not like anything of value was lost besides the Summoning ticket… which would have been used for the ritual later on anyways."

"That begs the question," The Fool still had his attention on the summoning circle thrumming with energy from the FATE system already ready for the next attempt at summoning a Servant. "How can you call a system with a one percent success rate an achievement?"

He knew that based on the Magical Theories he studied that a machine that was capable of reaching the Throne of Heroes was already a miracle in of itself, but the failures still managed to irk him a little.

"What is the pre-requisites that are needed to have a successful summoning?" He gripped the wooden Catalyst slightly tighter.

Mash's piece of wood was a shard of the Round Table, THE Round Table that the knights of the Once and Future King of England Arthur Pendragon.

That was certainly a surprise, based on the fame alone, most of the Servants that are tied to that Catalyst would be exceptional Heroic Spirits. Save perhaps, Sir Bedivere or Sir Agravain that is.

Then again, he himself had no need for the Catalyst to use now that he thought about it. The weapons from Tartarus made sure he didn't need it.

Aroundight of Sir Lancelot.

The sword of his son Galahad.

Excalibur of King Arthur himself.

His holy spear Rhongowennan or better known as Rhongomyniad.

Those weapons were far more specific relics to used as a Catalyst than the fragment of the Round Table that Mash just used. And they were tied to the quite frankly higher end knights like Lancelot that was said to be without peer and his son Galahad said to surpass his father.

Unlike his Persona fused weaponry, these arms were the genuine article that probably belonged to the real individuals that used them in history. Tartarus was a spatial and temporal distortion, that power most likely sucked those weapons up across time and space.

How very ironic that the weapons would end up in the hands of the Persona Users that swore to end the Dark Hour and the Shadows.

Thunk!

Suddenly, a metallic sound was made when an object fell onto the ground.

That thud drew the attentions of the three individuals back to the circle. Upon a closer inspection, the item that dropped was a bladeless red handle with small T-shaped guard.

What was that?

"It's a Black Key," Da Vinci explained after analyzing the summoned tool.

"A what?" Mash tilted her head slightly in confusion. It didn't look like anything its name suggested; it wasn't black nor was it a key.

Unless it was some sort of Magical gate key that worked on mysteries that is.

The Wildcard merely raised an eyebrow at it and gave a go on look to his mentor Da Vinci to continue his explanation. He needed more to go on regarding this… tool and despite how the Caster type Servant acts at times, the Fool Arcana Persona User trusted Da Vinci on the aspects of this supernatural world.

"**That is most intriguing,"** Michael said with an inquisitive hum. **"I can sense the devotion to the Lord's words in that 'Black Key' that the locals call it."**

How… peculiar, Michael was one of the more silent variety of his Personas. While it may seem rather ironic that he of all people would call another silent, Michael was not the Archangel that would counsel others.

That would fall under the personality of Gabriel. Michael was the sword of God, the epitome of what being an Angel of God represents. For him to show interest in something else was interesting and undoubtedly an Abrahamic faith-based construct.

"Black Keys are a form of Sacraments of the Church," The Servant elaborated. "They are spiritual weapons made with the purpose to intervene against spiritual beings aligned within the evil category. They are theoretically capable of harming a Servant."

"Like how paper cuts can theoretically 'harm' humans?" The Persona User raised an eyebrow at that remark, if the Servants can be dealt with a common enough tool then the Mages wouldn't have bothered summoning them as weapons.

"They're not made to be truly lethal against such beings but their ability to restrict movement by being thrown on one's shadow is particularly potent." Da Vinci agreed with Minato's analogy for the most part. "But against Vampires like Apostles and most opponents, Black Keys work rather effectively, being a half-spiritual construct, they can pierce through most mundane materials."

Minato picked up the church Sacrament and immediately a blade formed. They were not black as the name stated but he supposed that the black in its name might be its purpose in binding against evil based beings.

If he was surprised by the sudden manifestation of the bladed section then he certainly didn't show it, he supposed that a Black Key piercing someone's throat is just as if not more lethal than a pocketknife. If the church of God was involved in its creation, then its holy or purifying in nature.

"But why did this Black Key appear in place of a failed summoning?" Mash asked about the elephant in the room. It seemed rather random that a sword dagger type weapon would appear in place of a Heroic Spirit and just thinking about it was stroking her curiosity.

"Can I have this?" Minato asked the girl who performed the summoning ritual. "I believe this is technically your possession, Mash."

"Um… sure," She replied with a bit of hesitance, not due her being shy but rather the… oddness of the whole situation was getting to her. That and she and sharp objects don't mix well, especially sharp and piercing kinds.

"That, I actually have no idea." Da Vinci off-handedly replied. "Though I suspect it to be a prank in the design feature, perhaps one of the staffs felt amused about the constant failed summoning and wrote a spell into the system to use the left-over energy to give compensation prizes." The tone of her voice sounded rather amused by the whole situation, better than feeling down from not getting a Servant out of it he supposed.

"And I think I have an inkling on who put that spell in the system." The Caster shook her head rather fondly. It was most likely that one platinum blonde and blue-eyed man named Leon on the development staff who occasionally enjoyed playing the role of an engineer.

"I don't care," The Wildcard admitted bluntly. That was interesting news but ultimately, the who behind that joke of sorts is not important. Merely knowing that random items would be generated as a compensation is enough. "What is the requirements for a successful summon?" He reiterated once more.

"Senpai… no one KNOWs," The Kouhai felt a bit startled but responded to the question anyway. "Sometimes the system works and mostly it does not." She could feel the silent intensity of her Senpai, a stark change to his usual aloof and blasé attitude towards most things.

Knowing that the first mission was a day away or so awoke a small fire in him. That strength of will and passion filled the lilac haired girl with a small warmth, Minato Senpai would surely perform the best amongst the Masters. In her heart, she knew that to be true. She had seen most of the other master's that were gathering soon for the director's lecture, most likely a summary of their duties in Chaldea and what she personally expects of them.

In other words, things she and Minato already knew beforehand but they'll be forced to attend for formalities sake.

The formally trained Magus from the Clock Tower felt either cold and unfeeling or choose to come to Chaldea for their personal interest of some sort. There was one man that she was admittedly afraid of, he felt more like a beast in the hide of a man if she were to be completely honest. She did not feel comfortable towards… him.

The ones from the civilian sector well… they don't strike her as the most competent. In other words, she would rather stick behind the back of the man known as Minato Arisato. There was some sort of pull or a force that makes her want to be near this man for some reason.

"As much as it shames me to say, I do not know." The Inventor took over seeing that the other two wouldn't know the specifics behind this system. "While it may be based on the system in Fuyuki, merely copying the system had all sorts of flaws and complications and thus some tinkering had to be done."

The thing was, as impressive as FATE was, it still wasn't a genuine Greater Grail and had to be compensated with unique spell creations that was more efficient than the original Fuyuki ritual. Not that it was all that difficult to accomplish, Mage-Craft had advanced over the two centuries the Fuyuki system had been created.

"The Bugs will eventually be worked out of the system eventually, or perhaps we might get lucky and summon a Servant with a compatible Noble Phantasm that can boost the concept of the FATE system."

The concept of 'gathering' heroes of legend.

"In other words, luck as of right now is the deciding factor?" Minato stared at Da Vinci with half-lidded eyes.

"To put it bluntly, yes." The Inventor looked particularly annoyed at the unscientific explanation. "Some Servants have a high enough Luck stat to change or resist fate and destiny."

"Hmph… Good to know," He closed his eyes and heard his mental trigger, the sound of glass shattering against a hard floor.

He changed his Persona to another one that had the highest Luck stat that he created. Norn, the greatest Persona of the Fortune Arcana. Though the changes that his Personas were going through to acclimate to this world had yet to be completed, there's no harm to simply manifest their properties on this body of his.

Rather than changing or resisting fate and destiny, he'll instead force dominion on that concept. Norn, the absolute embodiment of the destiny of Gods and Men in the Norse world was the perfect fit for the situation he was in.

He'll now control the wheel of fortune for this moment. As long as the "Possibility" of success is not zero, his control of fate will change probability and give birth to that possibility as the new "Reality."

* * *

"Let's get started then."

Instead of doing the Chaldea variation on the incantation, Minato decided to use the original incantation used in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War. Who knows, perhaps the world would accept the original more due to its more… tried, true and solid nature.

Then again, incantations themselves are rather flexible and minor variations are found to better fit the caster. Arias were used to power up spells based on the number of verses and lines, but its true effect was akin to hypnosis on the chanter, to make them truly believe in the effects of the spells.

"Silver and iron to the origin of all things in this Universe. Jewels and the Archduke of contracts to the corner stone. The Ancestor is my great master Schweinorg." There was a bit of variation to the original verses but nothing too different to the point of Mash's chant.

The circle glowed blue as it became more and more saturated with his Prana. Due to the bounded field, the left-over energy from Mash's previous summoning attempt that wasn't consumed to bring the Black Key as a consolation prize of sorts was being re-cycled in his attempt.

His right clenched hand was outstretched to the very edge of the Magic Circle and was dripping this weird glowing alchemical solution. The liquid quickly hit the letters of the circle and unnaturally moved to trace the whole outline of the sigils and caused the bright blue light to turn a bright green, the same glow that comes from Magic circuits.

His trigger to activate his Magic Circuits was the image of a sword being driven through his gut and being set on fire. The first was most likely a reference to his affinity towards human mortality and the second was perhaps the only thing he could remember about that day.

The day that his parents had died in the battle of Aigis the mechanical maiden and the final piece and body of the being known as Death. That image was seared into his mind the gentle final smile of her mother as she burned to ashes from that clash. Some patches of his body had burn marks, but he was the lucky one that survived.

"The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."

The Fool will freely admit that the beating of this heart of his accelerated as he was getting closer and closer to finishing the chant. Before in the ritual of Mash's, a gust of wind was generated from her Prana but now due to the room's higher concentration of Magical Energy, that gust was a storm of wind comparable to the end of her Chant. Perhaps even greater since the Magic Circle started to generate sparks of electricity and the chamber room started to smell like the ozone itself.

He had also waited for about fifteen minutes after the conduction of Mash's summoning so his Magical Energy would be at it's peek. Apparently, there are times like that, so he had to plan ahead to make sure he was at his highest when he summons that Servant.

"Shut (Fill), Shut (Fill), Shut (Fill), Shut (Fill), Shut (Fill), Repeat every five times."

Minato could feel and hear the circuits in his body hum as Prana was forced to push through them. It was an… odd sensation, the Magic Circuits wasn't heavily strained to perform the ritual due to his Core, but it doesn't change the fact that using them felt rather unnatural to the blue haired teenager.

Neither could he say that using a Persona was natural feeling at first either but now it was almost second nature to him when he used them. It's only the near-death instinct that triggers the summoning via the Evoker that was the stressful part of using that power.

"Simply, shattered once filled."

"I announce your own self is under me, My Fate (Doom) is in your sword," The former vessel of Death felt the hand holding the alchemical solution tighten a tad bit spilling some of the liquid onto the circle faster than he intended. Not that it would negatively affect the ritual, but it would have to be something he'll have to work on some other day.

This Chaldea supported Ritual was relatively safe compared to the others, the worst thing that could have happened was a slight explosion if there was a flaw or error in the symbols of the Magic Circle.

There were rituals that tried to attempt to alter the structure and properties of materials like jewels which were a viable method of storing Prana long term. A single flaw in performing the ritual like what he accidentally just did in dripping the alchemical solution would have been akin to dropping a magical tactical nuke within three feet of the Magus.

"In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer me." The Fool closed his eyes and took a deep breath before resuming the last few fines that needed to be stated.

With Destiny under his control, the fractional probability that this FATE system in its current iteration was an issue of the past. That probability had become a certain possibility that cannot be altered.

Da Vinci crossed her arms and smirked. He didn't know what that student of his did, but it appears to be a success. The Caster type Servant found something to hound the poor boy for later on, he noted just how confident and certain Minato was compared to Mash despite seeing the failure on her end.

"Here is my oath. I am the one all good of the world and I am the one who lays out all evil within this world. You of the Seventh Heaven clad in these three words of power. Arrive from the ring of deterrence, O' keeper of this fragile balance!"

The light exploded into a bright flash which blinded everyone in the room like usual, but Minato was tapping his feet on the ground and placed his hands back in the pockets of his pants. He still needed a good jacket to rest his hands at, but he'll just ask Da Vinci to make him one, that Servant can be annoying at times, but the Fool trusted his opinions on fashion. Leonardo was a world rank artist after all, there's no one on this civilized world that doesn't know his name. Just as long as it isn't too colorful like that dress the inventor chose to wear. Minato Arisato was a man that hated bright colors.

The smoke cleared revealing a feminine adult form, that was a good sign to everyone. Minato knew that he was going to be successful due to the assistance of his Persona Norn but seeing the silhouette of his Servant was still a load off his shoulders.

* * *

Mash Kyrielight coughed at the sudden cloud of smoke and dust that was kicked up by the wind. She closed her eyes and accidentally knocked the glasses she was wearing from heaving too hard.

"My oh My, what do we have here?" an eloquent sophisticated voice was heard, it sounded like a young woman in her prime which was around the twenty-five to thirty-five-year range. "What and adorable girl we have, a shame you aren't the one who called for me." She admitted with a bit of a sigh.

"And the woman is rather beautiful as well, I think I'll enjoy dressing them up like my persona dolls." She smiled cruelly not realizing just how creepy she sounded. As far as first impressions go, Minato wasn't exactly impressed with the Servant he summoned. Though for some reason, this Servant had a very similar aura to what he had sensed before coming to this world but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out where he had encountered this presence before. From what he could tell, she gave off Greek divinity and Greek 'smell' from her scent.

Mash simply coughed into her fist awkwardly, not sure if she should expose the fact that Da Vinci was merely… experimenting a little and that 'she' was not truly a she in the most traditional sense. Da Vinci himself doesn't know what gender he wishes to be as; it really depends on that Inventor's whims and his overall mood in the moment.

Da Vinci puffed up as if he was showing off the size of her chest, he was quite proud of this body of his' golden ratio. Mona Lisa was the perfect woman in body, and he was the perfect man in mind. It was only natural that she was beautiful beyond the measure that can be captured by mere words.

The newly summoned Servant was what one should consider the textbook example of what a witch should look like in real life. Her face was half covered down to below her eyes on the sides of the hood and down to the nose in the mid-section.

The hooded cape of sorts was of a purplish blue in coloration covering up a second black cloak. A circular hollow gold pin with a red tassel and bead pinned the cloak and hood closed at the chest region. The purple dress was rather plain but tastefully elegant as well, the good had a giant leaf like gold decoration like a decorative crown of sorts.

Even her staff was plainer compared to the giant monstrosity that was Da Vinci's and had an overall more feminine tone to it despite being an inanimate object. Though this made a lot of sense since Leonardo Da Vinci was a man of the 15th century that happens to enjoy being in the body of a woman… not that the Fool disagrees with him.

Though, that Servant likes to play around a lot once he was given free time. At least Da Vinci is an efficient worker to counter act that aspect of himself. While annoying to deal with personally, Minato supposed that that was a quirk truest to the individual known as Leonardo Da Vinci. The Fool would respect someone true to themselves a thousand times over than the pen of Vipers known as the Mages Association. The Master Candidates they sent were exactly that, snakes in human skin, from first impressions alone he knew that most of them could not be trusted with his back.

And that's coming from someone who didn't even trust his own instincts, but the Fool could tell that they were all opportunists. Some of them didn't give him those vibes but he still didn't trust them with his life. His Personas already gave him their opinions of his so-called "Fellows." They already knew which ones were nothing more than slimy scum and which ones had the potential for further interactions and had the potential to develop connections.

Minato gasped in pain; a minor pain compared to what he endured but it startled him like one gets their toe stubbed on a corner. It was the unexpectedness that was the real issue rather than the mild burning sensation on the back of his right hand.

The red markings took the form of two outstretched bird wings with the center being pierced by a sword dropping from the heavens like divine lightning.

"It appears that you're the one that's supposed my Master?" The Servant made a hmm sound. "You look incompetent as a Magus-!" The moment she turned to look at her Master the purple haired Servant made a choking sound upon looking at his face.

Minato Arisato merely raised one of his eyebrows in a questioning manner. That was… unexpected to say the least, here we was stressing over the fact of whether or nor he was worthy to stand in the presence of a Heroic Spirit. But now, he had to take a few mental steps back as he observed his contracted Servant being… startled with his presence.

He's assuming that this Servant is of the Caster class based on her clothing and her dismissal of his own Mage-Craft that he never even used in front of her. That or a Heroic Spirit that is well versed in the mystic arts, versed enough to completely disregard his own standing as a Magus.

"…Is something wrong?" He asked bluntly. While he never considered himself the most handsome man out there, he wasn't that unattractive a woman would choke in disgust, right?

"…No," The Servant clad in ancient robes eventually bit out like a noblewoman trying to save face amongst company. "You simply startled me with that appearance of yours, I was taken back due to your resemblance to someone I knew in life."

That was an interesting fact that she spewed out. "It is a coincidence." He replied, she truly had the airs of a Servant, just by existing he could tell that she was far above the existence known as humans. It was just like the day he first met Da Vinci and how he immediately deduced that the renaissance artist was the biggest threat out of all the Enforcers that Olga had brought with her to 'meet' him.

"Perhaps so," She agreed looking as if she wanted more than to drop the topic. "Though, you give off the same air as him and perhaps another one I knew."

"As pretentious as it sounds, I am your Master Arisato Minato," He gave a slight bow, not a submissive one but one out of politeness. She had either a royal or noble air, he'd figured a bit of courteousness would go a long way. "May I have your name?"

Not as formal compared to the rules of etiquette that Mitsuru in her spare time had taught him nor is it what Olga expected of him should he take his education further by studying in the Clock Tower. She was the one who had inherited the title of Lord from her father Marisbury and thus as an associate of her, he must act within a certain range of decorum especially seeing his eastern heritage.

He couldn't see her eyes hidden behind the hood she was wearing but even he could tell she was giving a 'really?' look to him.

"I'm not against giving my name to you, 'Master' but are you sure that you wish me to reveal my identity in the presence of another Servant?" The hooded Servant turned her gaze back at Da Vinci. "I understand that Mages have the option to ally themselves early on in the Grail War but seeing that we will be enemies later, is it wise to give up my concealed name and abilities to that Master-Servant pair?"

"…Ah, this isn't a Holy Grail war," Minato felt something click in the back of his mind. "Da Vinci, can you explain our circumstances to her? You can give a much more detailed explanation than either me or Mash."

The fellow Caster Servant sighed. "Leave it to the Teacher to clean up their student's messes." Minato assumed that meant the Inventor agreed.

"Here's the situation in place of a proper Grail War." Da Vinci started the explanation of their goals and situation. It was very in-depth as Minato expected but the Persona User focused on one thing.

Where the hell did Da Vinci pull out a pair of glasses and how the hell did, she put it on so fast when he had his eyes on her the whole time? The answer to that question may never be answered to the man ever.

"I am beginning the grasp the situation your organization is in, Master." The purple cloaked servant breathed out after a few moments of contemplation. "Though it may sound too grand of an undertaking for an individual such as yourself. Very well, I have responded to your calling and thus offer you my knowledge and talents. I am Medea of Colchis, a Caster class Servant which you undoubtedly noticed."

"Ah, Medea of the Argonauts," Mash beamed. "Congratulations Minato Senpai, the Doctor had given quite the high praise of her abilities."

"**Medea, that poor child."** Orpheus spoken up for once, his voice filled with a slight regret. **"When I was still alive, I cared little for the little sorceress. But it appears that Love had ruined both of our lives, while I'll never regret meeting my Eurydice… what that bastard Jason had done is unforgivable."**

It was rare for the musician to get so riled up but for the child of the Sun God who lived according to his heart and his fiery and passionate affections, Jason's callous act of disregarding and the casual discarding of Medea's love induced by Aphrodite it may be was an act so vile that no words can describe the fury that the leader of the Argo had stoked.

"**Indeed, that act was fucked up as it was foul and rancid."** Polydeuces agreed whole heartedly. **"Maybe, you should summon us if we see that guy's blonde mug again?"** He wasn't doing it for that witch Medea but any reason to punch that guy's face was as good as any.

"…**HMPH."** Castor merely grunted in agreement with his twin brother.

Medea clicked her tongue. "I'd prefer it if you didn't associate me with that… man." She tightened her grip on that staff of hers with her trembling right hand.

That response made Da Vinci to summon her own staff in kind as well as her over-sized gauntlet. While it didn't seem like this Medea of Colchis would attack the two Master Candidates, it didn't hurt to be cautious.

As a staff member and the original Servant of Chaldea, it was her duty to make sure they weren't harmed, and it would look bad if he failed to protect them from inside threats when he was right next to them.

"R-right my apologies," Mash looked down at her feet like a scolded child from Medea's tone.

"It is accepted, just do not do it again." The Caster eventually waved it off. She glanced at her Master again before averting her gaze just as quickly.

The Persona User assumed that calling her the Witch of Betrayal would also cause a similar reaction from Medea and wisely kept it to himself. Though for her to be Medea of Colchis, it suddenly made sense why she was do familiar to her in terms of her presence and energy.

"_Why Junpei!? Why are you so strange, why can't you just leave me alone?" _The desperate shout of that red headed gothic Lolita rang through his mind vaguely. He didn't have much of relation to that girl and had only interacted with her once besides the confrontation with her when she left the hospital with Takaya and Jin.

Chidori's Persona was Medea of the Hanged Man Arcana and that Persona had fused with Hermes, Junpei's initial Magician Arcana Persona to create Trismegistus, the Thrice Greatest and the father of Modern Magic.

Minato and the rest of SEES had technically encountered Medea once before, even if it was a mere Persona. There were differences in the energy due to the former Strega member's influence on the Persona, but it was similar enough to be noted by him.

"Judging from that child's reaction, you did not expect me to answer your summons?" Medea asked with a hint of interest. Just who had her Master intended to summon in place of her? That and she'll displace any feelings of inferiority her Master Minato Arisato feels when comparing her to the Servant he intended to summon.

"The summoning system replicates a portion of the Holy Grail's powers but is… let's just say it isn't fully fleshed out. There's a few bugs in the system that needs to be worked on before the summoning of Heroic Spirits is somewhat consistent." The Fool explained in the simplest terms possible.

Medea was a Magus from the Age of the Gods, an age where controlling magic was almost as easily as breathing and feeling. He doubted that modern Mage-Craft would be too complicated for her, who was trained in the ways of the arcane through a literal goddess of Witchcraft Hecate.

Though he couldn't help but wonder who was superior, Medea who was taught by the ancient Gods of Greece or Leonardo Da Vinci the one who was considered omnipotent by the Mages of the Clock Tower and the one who's intelligent surpassed all those who lived in his era, a true genius.

"That and I used a rather general Catalyst." He showed her the piece of wood that he recollected. "I presume this to be a shard of the ship of the Argo."

He saw the way her lips curled downward in displeasure, the Witch of Betrayal actually swung her staff at his hand and knocked the relic out of his grip.

The Persona User hissed a bit in pain, Medea most likely didn't use much force in her swing but even so, she was still a Servant. Even the weakest of them surpasses humanity in physical attributes, as a Persona User he was stronger, faster, and more durable than even professional Olympic class athletes but he was just barely beyond the realm of man.

There was no comparing the Heroic Spirits and him, though his strength does increase in what the Mages refer to as Bounded Fields, they are similar to what the Dark Hour was and the effects does passively increase his physical attribute albeit not to the point of buffing himself with Kaja spells of Reinforcement once he feels comfortable enough with the spell to risk using it on his own body.

Medea hissed lowly and raised her staff which was glowing with a purple light, a small ray of Magical Energy blasted the Catalyst to near ash. It was only it's own Magical properties that saved it from being completely incinerated, though Medea seemed to be satisfied with its destruction.

"Um… was that necessary, Medea…San?" Mash question nervously, she wasn't sure if questioning her was the right idea. She didn't want to be reduced to ash like that Catalyst was just seconds prior.

"Aren't you a polite one?" The second Caster of Chaldea simply snorted lightly, her mood back to resembling amicably. "I simply did not wish to be reminded of that man, for my services; the destruction of that ancient little piece of firewood is a small price to pay, no?"

"…You don't want to hear how much the United Nations paid for that." Da Vinci breathed through her nose. "Just thinking all the blank canvas, I could have bought with those funds almost drove me to the depths of madness!"

"Please don't joke about that," The Lilac haired teen sighed. "Anyways, we should give Medea San a tour of Chaldea, right Minato Senpai?"

Minato was busy picking up the left-over splinters of the piece of the Argo. "Awaken Nihility."

His Mystic code glowed in a black light upon its activation and bubbled like molten tar used to pave roads. Taking a breath, he rubbed the ashes of the Catalyst into the liquefying Mace.

The Argo was a ship blessed with divine and magical protection but even so, it's primary nature is just a piece of wood. Wood that came from a tree at one point in the ancient past. Nihility was made from the fusion of the Void with the concept of the World Tree of the Norse world Yggdrasil, while they came from different mythologies, Nihility accepted and greedily ate the ashes and adding the properties of the Argo into its own self.

"How intriguing." The purple cloaked Servant bit out, it was as if she couldn't decide what emotion to feel. She wasn't sure if she should feel insulted that her Master who resembled one of the heroes that she sailed with in her youth Orpheus chose to resuscitate that accursed shard of a boat or fascinated by the Mystic Code he wields.

Minato didn't know the reasoning why he chose to integrate the piece of the Argo into his Mystic Code Nihility. The Wildcard knew that that ship shard evoked rather negative emotions in his Servant Medea and doing so might have incurred her ire, by all logic it shouldn't have been worth jeopardizing his new relationship with said Servant. But something told him to do so in spite of all that, it was illogical, but he chose to listen to his instincts on the matter.

Da Vinci clapped her gloved hands loudly. "No more dilly-dallying around here, I'm sure all of you are bored of being in the summoning chamber by now."

"Hmph, seeing that I will be materialized by your summoning for an unseen amount of time, it would be within my interest to see a suitable abode to serve as my Workshop." The second Caster responded half-heartedly.

Ah, he had forgotten that despite her being a Servant, Medea was a Mage by nature, and it would be natural for her to set up a Workshop.

Mash stayed in the corner not adding anything to the conversation, she was starting to feel like a background character.

Walking a short distance from the summoning chambers, they encountered a fainted girl with bright orange-red hair curled into a ball in the middle of the hallway.

* * *

**UGH, wanted to introduce Shiori and Minato/Mash this chapter but it dragged on too long. well bright side is it's gonna be the beginning of next chapter.**


	8. The Day Red and Blue Saviors converge

**adislt: Yes the Persona immunities carry over unless there's some sort of reason why it won't. Writing entirely in bold sounds like a bad idea.**

**ThatIdioticMelody: Medea was one of the Argonaughts so I'd figured she would have been a good choice. Though I am having some slight issues writing her character.**

**death0887: He standoffish since he's in a similar mental state when Shinjiro died in the third movie P3 Falling Down. Speaking of Lev...**

**Shiori's first Servant shouldn't be a surprise. That's the only hint I'm giving. kiara is going to be... interesting to Minato to say the least.**

**Dxhologram: Norn conceptual powers for the win! Any ideas for the flashback?**

**Farron: Of course, Minato was noted to be special even as a Wildcard by Igor and that shows in achieving the Universe rather than the Typical World. Though he does technically also have the World is you played PQ1.**

**Ina: Thing is there's little reason for Minato to summon a Servant he already possesses as a Persona. He technically already had their abilities and more due to them being the Heroic Spirit in it's entirety rather than being limited to their Servant class. Yeah it would be cool to see the bonding and I'll have to scour the depths of Youtube to see the interludes since I tend to skip them in the game.**

**Yevon: right. Angels will be in this fic but just don't expect them anytime soon.**

**VGBlackWing: Nobbus are for Farming! If you aint farming than u aren't doing it RIGHT!**

**Gen2324: Sakura is one scary lady in the FGOverse alright lol.**

**Art Smail: That's called a simile which is used as a comparison. Not exactly Archaic. the dumbing down of words are used to help the characters who by story not that well versed in the laws of the world to understand. **

**Frotj: I wanted Minato to have Medea as a first Servant due to her strengths being less apparent than say a Hercules or Lancelot Beserker.**

**Black Key GACHA: Depends on the Persona but on the general note, unless its some NP or ritual type spells Nuclear and Almighty have a high chance of punching through in Magic shoot outs.**

**Doortolight47: Technically possible to do so I assume.**

**Valkoor123113: sounds plausible. Any ideas?**

**Thunder Dragon: Yes he technically has all the Personas from P3 PQ1 and 2.**

**Hekkasi: She'll live.**

**Garrick: Maybe. never played dancing or read that fic.**

**Odin's Eye: There will be a Harem but it won't be the main focus. Norse and Egyptian magic yes and maybe others if there's a reason to.**

**Hoppy: They will but much later on. Around Goetia but definitely the Extra CCC Kiara event where that tidbit will be relevant.**

* * *

"Fou, Fou, Fou!" The white beast barked out it's own name like some off-brand Pokémon. _"Food slave ahead!"_

Minato snorted. "Not with that mouth, Mutt." It has been truly a while since the Persona User had stayed in this world, long enough that he had some sort of understanding of the creature known as Fou. It was interesting at first but the novelty has all but faded away.

"_Master, the creature is more than it seems." _Medea spoke to his mind telepathically, she seemed rather weary of the dog like animal despite how non-threatening it looked.

Minato almost tensed up hearing her voice in his mind were it not the fact that he was used to hearing the voices of his Personas and Fuuka in the past due to her role as their support. It used to be mostly Orpheus and Thanatos back in his old world but ever since he came to this one, they seemed far more alive than before.

Huh, how many people in his world diagnosed with schizophrenia but in actuality had a Persona that they had no way of summoning? That was certainly a rather interesting question that he would never have the answer to.

"I'm aware of that, Medea." Minato responded in the same telepathic link. "It's got quite the mouth on him but Fou's non-hostile. I would rather not get arrested for something like animal abuse in any case." That doesn't change the fact that the teenager vastly preferred Koromaru over this squirrel tail, but it was good for his heart that Fou wasn't simply a Koromaru clone. He didn't need a constant reminder of his time with SEES.

Still, this telepathic link was a rather useful ability and the ability to share senses was a quality that was under appreciated by the Mages of this organization in place of simply focusing on the more upfront abilities of contracting a Servant. With Fuuka's ability, he could achieve similar results to non-contracted Servants and other allies.

"Fou!" Fou began to nibble on the passed-out girl's ear trying to wake her but to no avail.

"MMM!" The red-haired girl groaned sweetly and swatted the white furred creature away with a mean backhand, it used far more power than what one would expect from a still sleeping individual.

"Fou Fouuuuuuuuuuu!" Fou flew a distance of fifteen feet due to that girl's freakishly strong arms. Eventually the creature landed with a soft thud sound. How did such a powerful strike come from such a slim girl? Seriously, she was basically skin and bones.

Ironically, other members of SEES especially Akihiko said the same things were said about him.

"Fou!" Mash practically shouted but calmed down quickly enough seeing Fou simply shake off the fall with no visible discomfort besides the annoyance.

"Quite the heavy sleeper, isn't she?" Da Vinci snorted seemingly amused by the whole situation. He took out his Mystic Code camera and snapped another picture to add to his collection. "Perfect! Such a peaceful yet annoyed expression, a rather rare and exquisite one if I say so myself."

Medea raised an eyebrow at the whole situation, now that she was aware of just WHO that Servant was in that body modeled after the Mona Lisa, she didn't know if she should preserve this young girl's privacy or join in the endeavors of her fellow Caster.

It wasn't everyday one gets to experiment fashion with a extremely renown artisan… but for some reason, this girl annoyed the hell out of her despite being sound asleep.

The Greek Servant did not know why but she had a sudden urge to repeatedly punch that red head girl's gut until she coughs up blood. Now that she thought about it, this flame colored girl did seem strangely familiar with the second Caster of Chaldea but not like how her current Master was.

Her Master Minato Arisato reminded her of someone she once knew in her youth Orpheus in appearance. She was never all that close to the others of the Argo, but she didn't find Orpheus as nauseating as the other men.

The recollection, the familiarity that she had with this asleep child was… unclear to her. Her memories of where she seen that face was rather hazy compared to her past which she could recall fairly vividly. Perhaps she met this child in a Grail War or maybe her ancestor, that was a likely case. The Medea of that Grail War is 'different' to herself, the Medea that manifested in response to his summoning.

"Fou, Fou, Fou!"

"There, there Fou," Mash picked up the white beast and snuggled it in her bosom. "She didn't mean it." She tried to calm the dog thing down but to no avail, the number of curses being spouted out of that creature's maw was… disconcerting.

Needless to say, it was fortunate that children were not around this creature.

Minato crouched down near the prone form of the female while Mash merely bent her back forward to make a near perfect sideways L-shape. Fou got nearer to the sleeping female and started to bark even louder and much more furiously.

"HMM! Five. More minutes momma!" She turned to her other side and tried her best to bury her head in her makeshift pillow that is her arms.

"…Did she really compare her mother to the sounds of Fou barking?" Minato asked, he started to poke the girl's cheeks out of curiosity. "Her cheek is really soft, like baby bottom soft."

Medea merely snorted at the thought of another woman barking like an animal. As a woman, one should have some sort of grace and elegance.

"Senpai! You shouldn't be touching people like That!" Mash protested with a reddened face. "…Are they really that soft?" She asked in a whisper as if they were conspiring against a shared enemy.

That was the real question.

"Why don't feel them and find out?" The Fool smiled teasingly at the other teenaged female. "As for your first statement, this girl is literally in the middle of the hallway, might as well wake her up before someone trips over her trying to rush through to be on schedule." Or worse, someone gets a bit more handsy than he was.

The director or rather, just like any superior hates when subordinates are late. That will give them a bad image and appear not as committed to their duties and Olga in particular apparently loves firing people.

"Wake up." He poked her cheek experimentally with his finger with a bit for force. "Come on, your five minutes are up."

"Fuck off mom." She grumbled, annoyed at the constant pestering. "Ten more minutes."

Did she just increase the time limit for her nap? She responded and thus it was confirmed that she was at least conscious enough to hear what they were saying.

"Should I wake her up Master?" Medea asked pointing her staff at the prone red head. For some reason she wanted to make that woman's life hell.

"…I'm not trying to kill her, Caster." Minato turned his head to look at his Servant being careful to not use her true name out in the open. "And put that staff down."

The Caster Servant did one better and dematerialized her whole body and returned to spirit form. That's rather convenient Minato noted, making sure he included that in his tactics once he would be deployed on the field.

He was ok with Mash and Da Vinci knowing it since he spent most of his time with them in some form of fashion, but he'd rather keep the identity of his Servant a mystery. Knowing Medea's name also gave way to reveal her strengths and weaknesses.

He put a finger over his lips when he looked at Mash and saw her nod getting his message without any further elaboration. Minato didn't need to explain further to Da Vinci seeing that he was supposedly a genius after all.

Minato turned his attention back to the red head and smirked. He suddenly had a genius idea that would be sure to work, it worked on him most of the time and it was efficient. "Breakfast is ready."

"…Senpai, I don't think that's going to work." Mash tightened her grip on Fou as it tried to escape Mash's embrace and bite the girl that struck his perfect adorable body, he demanded compensation for this barbaric act… fifteen pounds of beef jerky treats would suffice. One pound for every foot he traveled.

"I call for double portions!" The girl immediately got up with her back ramrod straight. "So is papa's or Sakura Nee's cooking… oh… shit." Gudako rubbed the fuzz out of her eyes and wiped her drool off on her Chaldea uniform sleeve. It was actually rather fashionable, the only changes she made was requesting a shorter style skirt… Miniskirts was life.

Shiori Emiya remembered that she wasn't in her home anymore and that she accepted that man's proposal to join the Chaldea Security Organization. A place that this world's Sakura Nee was vehemently against her joining due to it's connection to the Animusphere family and thus to Marisbury Animusphere who participated in the First Holy Grail War of Fuyuki.

A man that her aunt blamed for the deaths of Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya of this world whether it be directly or indirectly, she did not know. That was why Shiori's paranoia in using an alias might have saved her life, if this director Olga Marie Animusphere knew that she was related to the Tohsakas then who knows what she would have done to her.

At least the Moonlit world and the mundane one did not have Tohsaka or Emiya blood in their systems and thus the Chaldea DNA scan didn't realize anything beyond that she was mostly of Japanese descent and one eighth Finnish apparently. Wasn't that blonde girl Luvia Edelfelt that her mother Finnish?

"Hmm… since it's neither morning nor night… please wake up, Senpai." Mash patted Fou on the head to calm him down.

"Fou, Fou!" Fou barked at the awakened girl, annoyed at her but not as righteously angered as before. _"You owe me SNACKS."_

"You could have just said, good afternoon, Mash." Minato replied as he got off of his crouch. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a mint flavored cough drop and handed it to the red head. "For your nap breath."

"…Were you watching me sleep?" Regardless of her raised guard and suspicion, she still took the cough drop and plopped it into her mouth unceremoniously.

"And you were adorable," The Persona User's voice had a tint of sarcasm in it's otherwise monotone voice. "Are you a new Master Candidate or a new addition to the technician staff?" He didn't recognize her in all of the months he been here, but he wouldn't be surprised if Chaldea was still recruiting Mages who had the Spiritrons necessary to Rayshift.

From what he overheard from the director Olga, they as an organization started to recruit from the civilian sector. He would have disagreed with that, but he remember that's exactly how SEES had recruited him, and he was technically simply a civilian as well with no official Bloodline or history.

"Uhh… Who are you and where are we?" She asked, her head was still a bit fuzzy for some reason. "And yes, I'm technically a Master Candidate." Shiori just got here but she vaguely remembered that was the reason she was recruited. She had the best rest that she gotten in a long while so it kind of sucks that she was forced to awaken but there's no use crying over spilled milk.

"Right, that's a simple question and I really appreciate it." The Lavender haired girl responded. "…I am no one worth mentioning." She tried to copy one of the lines of those anime shows Romani watched all the time to make an impressive self-introduction… but it appeared to have the opposite effect.

The blue haired male simply exhaled exasperated at her. "Mash, it's just a question. There is such a thing as being too polite." Trying to be cool and trying to be polite does not mix well, especially when done at the same time.

"Yeah… what that guy said." Shiori stood up but stumbled a bit. Huh, now that she got a closer look, the blue haired guy was rather cute. He got that bishounen vibe without that overly feminine features of the men known as traps. He's what she referred to as the plain bishounen, but admittedly, those silver eyes of his were captivating. They stared directly into her soul and were silently judging her worth.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Mash Kyrielight as you have heard, and this is Minato Arisato Senpai." The bespectacled girl answered a tad bit embarrassed. "The other person in the back is Da Vinci."

"…What other person?" Shiori asked with confusion. "I'm… Ritsuka Fujimaru."

Da Vinci was nowhere to be seen, some time before Shiori Emiya woke up, the genius had disappeared to god knows where.

"He probably went back to his Workshop," Minato shrugged. "What a free spirit that one is." If he was to be completely honest, the Fool was rather jealous of Leonardo for that quality of his. As an individual, Minato can't help but he tied down by his past.

"In any case, pleasure to meet you Mash Kyrielight and Minato Arisato Senpai." She didn't expect the other Master Candidates to be her age. She figured the Clock Tower and the United Nations would rather have Enforcers and Free-lancers with combat experience over inexperienced teenagers… then again, she also was technically a part of that category.

"The Senpai part isn't my name."

"It isn't?" Shiori asked innocently.

"…" Minato didn't know how to respond to that.

"Relax, I'm just messing with you." She giggled innocently.

"As for where we are, we are in the passageway from the front gate to the Central Command Room, which is in front of the main Chaldea Gate."

"Um ok… those were words." The second generation Emiya blinked. All those names of the locations didn't mean much to her but probably due to the fact that she had never been in this facility until today.

"You'll be familiar with the facility in a week or so." The Fool shrugged. "It is big, so I don't blame you."

"Can I ask you a question in turn, Ritsuka Senpai?" The Lilac haired girl asked innocently, seeing that her new Senpai waved it off in agreement, she continued. "You were asleep, but why would you sleep in the hall of all places? Is it because you cannot sleep unless you're on a hard surface?"

Shiori almost snorted amusedly when she heard that question… this Mash girl was so… innocent. "Yeah. I can't sleep unless I'm on a straw mat." The Tohsaka heir knew that this girl would be fun to tease the moment she asked that question.

Minato simply rolled his eyes; this redhead was rather sassy. Well, a rather nice change of pace compared to the others who were recruited. This human like quality was further proof that this Ritsuka Fujimaru was from the civilian sector.

He remembered the time when he thought bringing civilians into this battle to maintain this 'Human Order' which sounds like an oxymoron was a poor decision. He then remembered just how inherently hypocritical that was, SEES had recruited him despite having no combat experience besides some kendo clubs he participated in.

In actuality, he was probably worse off than all those civilian Mages seeing that they were at least used to their powers while his first summoning knocked him out for a week. But then, by the end of the school year, he by the virtue of possessing the Wildcard and the powers inherited from Death became the most powerful, durable and versatile member of the team.

A shame that power didn't mean much when he truly needed it the most.

"Oh, a Japanese carpet, I've heard of those before. I see… yes, I see." Mash nodded to herself in satisfaction. The books she had read on other cultures was accurate after all, the time she spent researching the world outside Chaldea was not wasted.

"_Do not change Mash, do not change."_ The Fool breathed out of his nose in amusement, it was a bit of a bittersweet moment to him. Though there are many differences between the two, there's enough similarities in Mash's mannerisms to remind the Persona User of the ASW Aigis. Perhaps it's that naivete and innocence that superficially made them resemble each other. Though admittedly, those two probably would have gotten along if they had the chance to meet each other. The Designer Child who had never left this Facility out in the middle of nowhere and the Android that's trying to understand the meaning of life.

"Fou, Kyo, Fou." The white furred beast barked like a dog at the golden eyed woman who smacked him earlier. _"You owe me SNACKS. I demand fifteen pounds of beef jerky as compensation!"_ Is what this dog like creature was saying to the existence that now chose to call herself Ritsuka Fujimura.

"**This Mutt is annoying me,"** Satan grumbled loudly. **"If he keeps this up, I'll use it's hide as a wallet."**

…What would the primordial darkness incarnated need a wallet for?

"Oh. My. God." Shiori stared at that thing with her golden eyes wide from shock, as if she couldn't comprehend its existence. Her hands were trembling as if she was afraid of even touching that creature.

"_Perhaps, this girl is smarter than she looks,"_ Medea spoke telepathically. _"She could tell just what type of existence that white creature is."_

"It's SO CUTE!" She practically screeched. "What is it! I must have one of those." Her eyes were sparkling in excitement, rather from shaking from fear, her whole body was vibrating uncontrollably with childlike joy.

"_Never mind, she's a fool through and through."_ His Servant corrected herself incredulously_. "Perhaps I should have followed my fellow Caster when I had the chance."_

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you to him, haven't I, Fou?" Mash brought Fou closer to the newest Master Candidate careful to not bring it too close to the other female in case Fou held a grudge from earlier. "This squirrel like creature is Fou, he's a privileged life form allowed to walk freely around Chaldea."

"He's probably a unique species, the only one of its kind." Minato answered the second question. "Wouldn't recommend owning one in any case, not only does it have a bad attitude, it eats far more than what it's body should physically allow."

The glasses clad teenager sweat dropped at that. "…You should be the last person on earth saying that Minato Senpai." He should see just how much he eats; it was rather hypocritical for him to admonish Fou for his appetite. Though she did cut down on the number of snacks she gave Fou so her Sempai wasn't completely wrong, but it just felt odd for him out of all people to judge others regarding that quality.

Fou huffed in outrage and wiggled itself out of Mash's hold on him and strutted out indignantly. How dare these humans mock and insult him!

"What a mysterious creature," Gudako breathed out in sheer wonder. "Now, I really want a Fou of my own." She was never allowed to have a pet of her own due to her momma's distaste at the prospect of extra housework.

"…Is that what you saw from that?" Minato couldn't help but ask. All he saw was a spoiled little thing strutting off for not getting things his way. "Well, there's still some time before the orientation so let's go get a seat."

It's been a while since he gotten to flex the social skills he developed over the course of the year. While he did just summon Medea, that woman seemed to be fixated on setting up a Workshop of her own so their conversations would have to wait.

"_Medea, if you go through three walls and make a right you should be able to find Leonardo's Workshop."_ Minato suggested through their telepathic link. _"Even if he doesn't spark your interest regarding the mysteries he performs, that Servant has a fairly high rank within this organization, he should be able to offer you a suitable location for setting up you Workshop."_

"_Very well,"_ The Servant acquiesced to his suggestion. _"Do try and not break the hearts of those two girls while I'm away… my Master."_ And just like that, he felt her presence disappear entirely save for that link he has with her draining his Magical Energy a steady amount periodically.

He could just hear the teasing remark in the end of her line. In any case, summoning a Caster might not have been his first choice but like the tactician he was, he'll find a way to make use of her optimally.

* * *

***Break***

Minato saw the two girls sitting at the green bench that had enough space to fit perhaps four or five people. He was meanwhile at the vending machine buying a whole bunch of drinks, luckily despite being on the continent of Antarctica, the vending machines accepted American money.

It was courteous to buy drinks for people seeing that they were holding an extended conversation and secondly, Minato was storing the excess in his Dimensional pocket. It was simply a precaution in case Chaldea can't send them supplies when he Rayshifts in whatever location they sent him to.

"Lucia, Juno. Can you hear my voice?" Minato walked away from the machine and instinctively swerved to avoid colliding with the other person waiting on the line that was formed. It would seem that the Persona User spent a bit more time on the machine than he anticipated but that was the thing about using coins. Not only are they heavy but they are a pain to use anywhere else besides the vending machine or bus.

"**Your voice reaches us O' Master of ours." **The voice of the two Personas that once belonged to Fuuka Yamagishi responded in unison with their soft spoken and gentle fact, Lucia was particularly rather reverent to him beyond the usual respect and pledges of fidelity.

Was it due to the fact that Lucia was a Virgin Saint and he was one with his Persona, the Messiah that manifests himself on the Day of Judgement. He would rather not have Lucia of all Personas see him in those Divine lenses. She was borne of Fuuka's inner heart and Minato would never be comfortable with the prospect of Fuuka's legacy seeing him in that sort of light.

And if he were to be completely honest, he was beginning to hate that word, Master. That word was being used more and more often and thus, that word was losing its meaning fast. Before, it was simply a word that his Personas used to refer to him every once in a while, but now… it was getting rather grating. It just goes to show just how egotistical these Mages are when they first designed the Holy Grail war in the city of Fuyuki.

Claiming to be Masters of Legends given form. He wouldn't be upset if his other summons would refuse to refer him as such, he would probably prefer it that way.

And honestly, he was not a person to be referred to as one's master. Not simply because of his current feelings regarding himself but in general, he had no desire to lord himself over others.

* * *

***Break***

"Where is this place exactly?" Ritsuka still seemed a bit out of it despite her overall cheerful and fun demeanor. "The business card I got and that guy in the subway didn't explain much of what it means to work here beyond the future perks that is." She was referring to Dalton Aatos who either worked for the United Nations or a Magus who was hired as a middleman of sorts of the Clock Tower and the United Nations.

She never would have imagined that the stuffy Mages of the Association would even allow outsiders in the U.N to know about the supernatural world. Especially since her father works to maintain the secrecy of Magic by killing other Mages who had gone rogue but desperate times for desperate measures she supposed.

"That's an easy question to answer, Ritsuka Senpai," Mash held her chin with the tips of her fingers as if she was in deep contemplation. "Chaldea is an observatory built to make the future of humanity as long and strong as possible." She said it so casually like it was common knowledge and in her defense it very well may be for her being born from this organization and all.

"…Sure, that explains a WHOLE LOT." Shiori snarked It lacked any real heat, but she was a teeny bit annoyed at just how vague people in this facility were. All she really knew was that she had the potential to summon a Servant of her own and that her Pseudo Spiritrons were sufficient to Rayshift.

"Here," Minato finally gotten back to the duo and handed a bottle of water to both of them. He noted that Ritsuka's eyes still had that dazed look in them, she was hiding it well in their earlier meeting, but the poor girl had trouble focusing on anything besides staring vaguely at the tiled floor.

She looked at the bottle being offered to her uncomprehendingly for a total of three seconds. "…Thanks." The eighth generation Tohsaka let the water bottle drop gently into her hands and twisted the cap of in one sharp turn.

Gudako drank about a quarter of the bottle in one go, not only was her throat dry and thirsty but that water was the best water she drank… ever. She sighed in relief due to how refresh she felt; she would have poured the rest on her face if she didn't have company.

"It's mineral water made from a glacier, seeing as we're in Antarctica it's more feasible to buy it where its source is rather than importing." Minato took a big gulp of his own, he had enough resources in his Dimensional Pocket to go on for years without assistance.

The Dimensional Pocket that the Velvet Room Denizens taught him how to use made it, so time and space had no meaning. The food stored in that dimension never spoils, the ice cream never melts, and the equipment never need additional maintenance. The only downside to this pocket dimension is that he doesn't know how to make an opening big enough for items much larger than the size of his body.

Eventually Minato hopes to increase what he can hold in that dimension with Mage-Craft. There's bound to be someone that could store items similarly to what he can do, right?

Somewhere, a golden armored blonde man with red eyes sneezed. He was under the impression, yet another Faker was trying to copy him, and it made the King of Heroes more than a tad bit irritated.

Mash on the other hand had a look of struggle on her face trying to twist open the seal, her face built up a droplet of sweat from the effort she was exerting. She finally succeeded in her third attempt but not without garnering the chuckles of her new senpai.

"Are you alright now?" He asked calmly. He tossed the now empty bottle at the nearby trash can. He missed and the bottle ricochet off the rim and dropped loudly making a noise similar to bowling pins. Minato simply sighed and went to pick it up, littering was technically a crime.

"Thanks, Am now thanks to you guys." She mimicked the Fool and tossed the bottle at the trashcan in a casual overhand throw but unlike the blue haired male, she got the bottle in the hole the first shot.

"Impressive, do you practice sports or something?" Minato asked making a bit of small talk. She seemed like the Akihiko type of person to him, she just gave that sort of vibe.

"Sorta, if you consider being the head of the Archery club a sport." She said it dismissively, but they could hear an undertone of pride in her voice.

"Interesting, one of my… friends is err… was a member of the Archery club," The Wildcard scratched his head with his right hand. "She was pretty good at it herself and even tried to teach me the basics, but I was pretty average at it admittedly." The bow was never his preferred weapon, neither were the guns and canons that Aigis used. The most range he was willing to use were spears and pole-arms but that might change in the future seeing that his Evoker was destroyed and thus he wouldn't have to worry of accidentally using a pistol instead of the summoning device.

It still hurt referring Yukari as someone that was, in a past tense but he hoped he managed to keep his personal feelings from manifesting in his voice and demeanor.

"Well, my advice is the same for everyone. Just keep at it." She rubbed her forearm with a distant look. "Practice makes perfect. If I can do it then there's no reason why you can't either."

She was surprisingly humble for a Mage, even the director had that unreachable aura around her.

"Maybe so," Minato snorted and looked at Mash. "Perhaps you can help me convince this girl to hit the gym. The doctor told me that she couldn't even do a sit-up." Despite the amusement in his voice, he was half-serious about that. Mash was so weak physically that it wasn't even funny, he's worried that if she gets sick her immune system wouldn't be strong enough to fight it off.

"…You're not serious right?" Shiori sweat dropped at that remark. "Really, come on…" She looked at Minato's face to detect any lies before swirling around to check out the source.

Mash looked even tinier as she tried to curl into herself from the attention she was getting and especially from that… private detail. "L-let's get back on topic." She stammered. She had a legitimate reason for her physical ineptness! She was created as a Prana battery first with the most amount of Circuits possible rather than some genetic freak with a peak human performance body.

"…Right," Minato decided to spare the girl from further teasing and embarrassment. "Why were you sleeping on the floor of all places and please spare us your straw mat joke. It wasn't funny the first time." ...That came out a bit harsher than he intended to. No wonder Junpei called him an asshole at times.

"That was a joke?" Mash tilted her head in confusion. Now she was upset no, disapointed at that particular revelation. She supposed she always knew that the books would never be enough to capture the experiences and cultures of the outside world, but it was saddening to know just how ignorant she truly was.

"Spoiled sport, speak for yourself." Shiori was still getting the chuckles from just how serious Mash took her joke. "Well, after I got here, I went through some sort of simulation." She clutched her head; it was still spinning and hard to concentrate. The redhead took his attitude in stride which spoke of her easy-going nature.

"The Spiritron Drive, right?" Mash took over the conversation realizing the situation. "That does make sense, those unused to it are likely to experience stress on the brain." Frankly, this Ritsuka was on the lighter end of the spectrum, the day that the staff started to mass test the Master Potentials was the day the janitors worked for three hours to clean up the vomit the Mages threw up.

"_Huh, I never experienced that."_ Minato thought back to his own test with Mash months ago. Mash seemed fine as well, what made them the exceptions to the general rule?

"**You are much more than a mere man now, Summoner,"** Helel, the uncorrupted form of Lucifer mused. **"Even in your… reduced state, the brilliance of your soul of the totality of your existence still shines with such gross incandescence."**

That explains practically nothing. He supposed that he should be flattered with the excessive flattery, but Minato was never a fan of flowery language. That and he knew not to take Lucifer's and even his angelic form's words at face value.

"**The light of the Savior will never extinguish,"** Helel contributed to speak cryptically. **"That is what saved your life. A Messiah that breaks the cycle of life and death, how that miracle will choose to manifest itself now depends solely on you."**

Helel… the angel who fell from Heaven due to it's excessive pride in its inherent superiority, the most perfect Angel of God was praising someone else besides his own self. A rather strange contradiction in the existence that became the Opposer of God.

Now that the Persona User thought of it, Messiah had the power of Morning Star despite Helel never being used in his fusion and thus the chance of inheriting that powerful Almighty spell was supposed to be zero.

Did that vain being actually allow another to inherit it's light, the thought of another sharing in its perfection should have been antithetical to the existence known as Helel.

"**Even disregarding that,"** Orpheus spoke up. **"I doubt this so-called Spiritron Drive surpasses the Dark Hour's toll on the body. And as for the young lady's immunity, have you forgotten her origins?"**

A designer child. A being that was created with techniques Chaldea derived from Atlas due to their partnership. The Atlas Homunculus creation differed from traditional Alchemy; they were created specially with their Magic Circuits to interact with the "Virtual World."

Thus, the Designer Children who were created through said techniques should be used to such stresses on the brain borne as a side effect from Rayshifting even before their "birth."

"Yeah, my head feels like its pounding against my skull," The red-haired Magus admitted. "Shame, I was having a pretty good sleep." Rather ironic that his best sleep in a long while would be followed by this killer headache.

"By the way, what's this… Rayshifting thing people keep spouting on about?"

"Could it be that you came here without even being informed of what you're going to do?" The glasses wearing teen couldn't believe just how ill-informed her new Senpai was. The U.N is slipping if they couldn't even be bothered to explain the situation to the very people that they were recruited.

Even if they were understandably stressed knowing the situation of the Human Order and how it isn't nearly as stable as one would have initially thought but to send people to such perilous situations without even informing them.

"Those people were rather passionate about recruiting me," Gudako's face formed an embarrassed exasperated face. "I guess the fact that I have the potential to contract a Servant made them a bit too excited that they glossed over the details. In any case, they invited me here and so here I am."

"That's a new one." Mash tried her best to hide her chuckles from escaping by putting her hand over her mouth.

"Is it really?" Shiori mentally fist pumped, first day here and she already made a friend. Her social skills are way better than that idiotic brother of hers. She guess the other guy was a pretty likable fellow as well, a bit too blunt at times but nothing too major to complain about.

"Rayshifting is basically time-traveling," Minato decided to shed some light on the poor confused girl looking for some answers. "There's a whole bunch of technical jargon that I can't explain well which might be covered by the director's orientation. Long story short is that your body goes into a machine called a coffin, and your soul is projected into the distorted past called Singularity F."

"Kinda like a real life VRMMO?"

"If that's how you chose to understand it then fine… but just to be clear, unlike an VRMMO, if you did in the Singularity you will die in real life."

"Like the first season of Sword Art Online?" Gudako couldn't help but make that reference. That show for better or for worse was her guilty pleasure. Compared to other shows she watched like Puella Magi Madoka Magica or JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, Sword Art Online just falls flat in comparison but she held nostalgia for that show. She and her dad watched it together when she was a small girl and because her father was rarely home so Shiori threw temper tantrums back then and forced him to watch it with her.

"**I never watched it."** Mash and Minato replied in unison. Though the Fool did find some recollection in the name of that series. If he could remember correctly, his teammate Junpei gotten excited every once in a while, when a Web Novel with that name got updated.

"In any case, I doubt whatever anime you watched could fully explain what you'll be doing here." Minato racked his mind to see if he could find an explanation better than what he given earlier. To say that Rayshifting was simply time traveling gave an unclear impression.

From what Minato gathered, the projected body based on the Magical Theory on Rayshift was for all intents and purposes duplicate soul made from the Spiritrons of the original. Not quite the "True" soul being transported but it could be considered one's very own existence that's being transported.

The process makes a Spiritron "Image" of the individual and hence why constant observation from Chaldea's staff is necessary to observe that "Image" so it won't become to deviated from the original that was safely tucked in the machines known as Coffins back in the base.

If the image does become too different from the original, then the individual becomes "Lost". That's why dying was prohibited since the image body would be altered in some capacity.

"Oh! That does make sense… sort of," Shiori made a contemplative face with furled eyebrows. She practiced Gradation Air as did her father, so the "Image" concept wasn't anything new to her. "Is there anything else that I need to know?"

Time travel to her was still mumbo jumbo but then again, she didn't need to fully understand something to perform her "Duty". Just like people don't need to know how a phone or computer works other than it just does.

"Well, you were recruited for your ability to summon a Servant. We can skip that if you know what a Servant is." The Fool didn't like talking all that much, but this girl certainly does, not that he truly minded but Minato was more of a lend an ear type listener than an active conversationalist.

Usually if the conversation holds no real meaning and the topic was boring to him, he'll simply respond with "I don't care." But this girl seems to be one of those more sensitive types like Yukari… oddly enough they share the same inkling towards short skirts as well.

Well… not that he was complaining or anything.

"Oh, I know what A Servant is." She wanted to click her tongue. This World's Sakura Nee drilled that knowledge into her skull when she realized her niece from another world had agreed to join this Chaldea organization despite her aunt's… vehement disagreement. "The simulation's Archer class died when he used his Noble Phantasthingy… like he exploded or something."

"A double-edged sword indeed," Minato grunted. He knew to avoid summoning that Archer Servant once he could figure out his identity. "Well, Mash. Care to take it from here?" He'd rather have her explain the technology and layout of the facility than him. At least he can trust Mash to go into detail about everything. Knowing his own self, he'd try to say everything in the least amount of words possible.

* * *

***Break***

**UGHHH!**

Shiori's head hurts in more ways than one now. The whole situation with Chaldea and this preserving the Human Order was much deeper than what she had originally thought. At first, she came here just to find a way out of this alternate world that strikingly similar to her own world but now, now she'll actually feel bad if she decided to just dip out.

At first, she wanted to write this off as nothing more than a gigantic exaggeration to get more people to volunteer to risk their lives becoming these so-called Masters, but even if it is an exaggeration the scenario of a mass genocide of Mankind would not be good to put it nicely.

How could she face her father again and look him in the eyes if she doesn't chip in to prevent the extinction of the Human Race that was supposedly going to occur this year? As crazy as it sounds, she was inclined to believe it. If the inherently selfish people called Magi were the forefront of the effort to prevent this mass extinction event, then the situation was more perilous than what she could have anticipated.

She was Shiori Emiya, the first-born child of Shirou Emiya. Her father was a hero, a champion of justice. To not be invested in this would be akin to her walking up to him and spitting on that great man's face. If her father was here, he would have offered his services within the first sentence.

Gudako was admittedly just a normal girl that had no plans on following her father's footsteps but just this once, perhaps he will be proud of her. She who had never truly accomplished anything in that life of hers, who had no drive to pursue what it means to be a Mage either.

The whole Magic Science fusion thing that Chaldea Organization had going on was admittedly really cool. Her mother Rin had always said that science and Mage-Craft were ultimately two incompatible existences like Western and Eastern style Thaumaturgy.

That was inherently true in a theoretical sense, science was knowledge gained from unfurling the secrets of Mysteries while Mage-Craft relied on said Mysteries even if the Magus had to have an inherent understanding of his craft.

But practically speaking having science be boosted by Mage-Craft was still very much viable. The Trismegistus Spiritron Calculation engine was basically a Magical supercomputer. To say that science and magic had no overlap at all would be false and erroneous.

Her brother was a good programmer and hacker and that talent had carried over to his proficiency at Rune Mage-Craft. Projection was basically magical 3D printing not to disrespect her father's craft or anything and her mother Rin would probably be having a field day knowing that her daughter basically reduced the importance of Mage-Craft to the level of everyday machinery. Overall, Chaldea did a magnificent job exploiting that overlap to its benefit.

Chaldeas the Global Environment Model was the invention that supposedly showed the "State" of the current world and the past and future to a limited degree. It was what allowed this organization to predict the prophesied eradication of the species. Something told her that the World Gaia was unrelated to this predicted event and was supported heavily based on the information that that Mash girl told her.

Using her own intelligence that she had honed over the years, Gudako knew Gaia, while not exactly Man's best friend and is actively trying to get rid them is unlikely to allow that thing called Singularity F to exist either. That error in the world was to put it in Layman's terms akin to a Reality Marble on Steroids and Gaia would tear that inner world down like wet tissue paper the moment the User runs out of Magical Energy.

Taking that into consideration, that goes to show just how potentially dangerous Singularity F is. To resist the world tearing it down for months on end spoke volumes of the being maintaining it's existence. Shiori Emiya is not someone who is known for her wisdom, but her woman's intuition has yet to fail her and that intuition told her that there was someone… something with an intelligent mind behind this so-called closed reality Singularity F.

Minato had already gone over the Sheba lens but Shiori hopes that this machine in particular wouldn't break of malfunction on them. It was the lens that would "Observe" them after all and from what she was told, they needed to be watched and monitored constantly before their "Image" gets distorted and lost resulting in death. That was a rather scary thought and ironic as well, instead of dying to the Singularity they die to the staff's incompetence.

The lives of forty-nine Mages were on their hands and she was sure that they would do their up most to keep them alive. Not only is failure being not an option due to that pesky little thing that will cause the mass extinction of most life on the planet, on a smaller political scale, the theoretical deaths would be a nightmare to try and repair the relationships with the Mage families that produced the Masters.

Maybe she was being to optimistic and naïve but the Emiya doubted even an affluent family such as the Animuspheres who were one of the Lords of the Clock Tower could get away with such an event. Mages with only three to four generations being ignored she could understand despite her distaste of Magus politics, those of civilian background like her or rather like her fake files suggested she could understand as well.

But there was bound to be a few of prestigious background that could not be ignored by the eyes of the Clock Tower. The Laplace system that monitored their status and their "Image" better not malfunction on them; her life literally depended on it.

The Fate System from what she had just been told was a nightmare of a success that was borderline a broken train wreck of a failure. Just earlier, that system failed to summon a Heroic Spirit based on Mash attempting to use that system with a Catalyst.

Adding Minato's success at summoning his own Servant, that only made two successful summons using FATE out of the hundreds of attempts. One would have a better chance striking oil and a gold mine at their backyard with those odds. That success rate was just plain ridiculous to the point of incompetence, she get that it was far more difficult to call one of those Servants without the aid of the wish granting device named after the chalice that held Christ's blood the Holy Grail but come on, Chaldea was supposedly the organization that saved the Human race and they call a system that is just a step shy of being called a failure a success.

She supposed that this would be an opportune time for one of God's interventions to draw out a miracle for her. The Tohsaka's were a family descended from hidden Christians, the Kakure Kirishtians in the terms of the Japanese during the Shimbara Rebellion in the 1600s. They were Christians centuries before even dabbling into the arts of Mage-Craft and hence their good relations with the Holy Church despite in their eyes the Tohsaka's practices of the heretical arts.

This had no way of being verified but its probably the harmless nature of the Tohsaka craft using gems as Prana batteries that the Church decided to turn a blind eye toward her family performing the Magical arts. If they were dabbling into Vampirism, then no amount of good graces could have saved the Tohsaka manor from being stormed by Executors.

Overall, the experience she'll get at Chaldea sounds like an experience of a lifetime should she manage to get through it alive that is. This had a high possibility of being that sense of purpose that she alone out of her whole family lacked, she didn't want to be a hero of justice nor a competent Mage but this whole thing just sounded interesting. Incredibly dangerous beyond what's reasonable for sure, but interesting. Will this be it? The adventure that would cause her heart to finally beat with life beyond being content with mediocrity.

Her parents had gone through the bloody ritual known as the Holy Grail War almost two decades ago, as did her parent's counterparts of this world.

Now she was around the same age as they were in that Grail War and like them, she'll summon a Servant of her own, if that FATE system could be fixed that is. She didn't believe in fate and destiny, but this coincidence was certainly pushing heavily as evidence of the contrary.

Shiori Emiya will be a Master... as soon as the technicians make finish removing the bugs out of that system that is. Ugh those technicians better not be the type to drag out their working schedule to get paid more.

"Fou Fou Kyu," The White creature looked at her with righteous indignation. _"I have returned to receive offerings."_ He will get his jerky snacks, damn it. The other humans here ignore Fou and this Fou shall not forget this callous disregard of what he truly deserves. And what he deserves is the sating of his hunger and cravings, he was a simple creature despite his intelligence, but he was simply that, a creature.

"Aww, the cute strange creature is back." Shiori smiled like a child going through a toy store. "…Don't know why but the little one seems to expect something from me." She spoke to it as one would speak to a pet dog or cat much to the chagrin of the White Beast.

In all likelihood, this cute thing was probably a familiar to another Magus that probably has the ability to instant kill the being known as Shiori Emiya but she didn't really care. That thing was the most adorbs thing she had ever seen.

As of right now, it seemed harmless enough.

"Fou desires snacks and petting more than anything," Minato stared down the mutt with his sole visible silver eye. "Begone, any more snacks will make you overweight." He said it once and he'll say it again, Fou was no Koromaru. That beast did not possess even half of that Shiba Inu's discipline, Koromaru was an ideal pet now and forever more.

"Hmmm, I'd hate the little one to grow chunky because of me." The red head gave a sympathetic face to Fou. "Sorry strange creature but for your health, you need to make sure that your diet is perfectly balanced."

Fou wanted to squawk in outrage, this woman was not taking him seriously in the slightest and she was the one who struck him! It's all Minato's fault, his credibility had been going down hill the moment the blue haired androgynous looking male started talking to his care-taker Mash.

Suddenly Minato's relatively new phone vibrated in his pocket. The Fool Arcana Persona User considered something as 'mundane' as a phone to be a necessary expense compared to the archaic ways that many of the Mages here in Chaldea employ to communicate despite the fact that the organization was made from the union of science technology and magic.

It was rather hypocritical of them to join Chaldea but still scoff at modern conveniences such as the phone when the Trismegistus was for all intents and purposes a magic computer.

Taking it out and checking out the sender, it was Dr. Romani who messaged him. As relaxed as that guy could be, he wouldn't have texted him if it wasn't urgent. That or his sweet tooth was acting up earlier than usual. It was really hard to tell with that man at times, he's either very efficient or one of those comic relief characters found in Junpei's mangas.

'_Hey, Minato. Could you meet me in the labs a few minutes before the mission briefing?'_ Roman.

How odd, just what did Romani found so urgent that the older man needed to speak with him before the first mission started? His best guess is that it had to be with the regenerative abilities that was found within his blood. That was the real reason for the good doctor's initial interest in him.

The Fool couldn't help but feel interested and compelled to find out his blood's mysteries. It did come from his body after all and Minato felt like he at least deserved an update with the types of cures and treatments that the good doctor could develop from his blood samples.

Beyond the research revolving around the crimson life essence of his, Olga Marie Animusphere had given the doctor a secondary task and he would work on that whenever he had time aside from his duties as the head of the Medical department.

"Who was it?" Mash asked as she tried to coax Fou back but to no avail. The dog thing was suitably offended by the remarks of his caretakers and needed time to mend it's ego. "It looks like it's important based on your facial expression, Minato Senpai."

She had spent enough time with her enigmatic first Senpai to know something was bothering him. His face might have been locked in the 'poker face' as Da Vinci calls it but there were times that his silver eyes show a veritable storm of emotion.

That silver eye darkens to a storm gray when Minato is left alone to his own devices and when he had nothing to do to keep his mind sufficiently distracted to prevent it from wandering back into reflecting on his memories. His eye on the inverse, brightens up considerably when he goes to the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She had noted that he and Romani talked a lot over the past few months about something and the purple eyed teen would be lying if she said she wasn't curious in the slightest regarding what they were working on.

The doctor was rather tight lipped and refused to speak on the matter beyond one or two sentence lines on the matter. Not exactly a rare occurrence, his line of work had a lot of confidentiality clauses and it was Magus principle to keep knowledge concealed as much as realistically possible but… it was troubling to be left out.

"Important, perhaps." The Persona User said thoughtfully and ambiguously. It had the potential to be important, but the Wildcard couldn't say it was until there's a good possibility that his blood abilities showed more possibilities. "It's just something came up with my blood test that Romani took a few months back and he wished to speak to me."

It could ultimately be a waste of time but then again, he had no idea it would have been if he and more importantly Romani didn't take that leap of faith that it would produce results. The best rewards requires the most risk.

Technically the most risk he was in was getting pierced by a few needles, but the meaning still holds since this project was taking who knows how much of Romani's time. as Mitsuru would say, "Time is money."

That was a fact of life that held true regardless of worlds. To be a Magus is to 'walk alongside death'. An amusingly bold and daring statement in his opinion. The phrase actually meant accepting death was a very high possibility, the chance that one's research could have failed due to miscalculation of the variables or perhaps even being flawed from the ground up, being assassinated by other Mages trying to steal centuries worth of research from one's Workshop or perhaps angering the World itself, the possibilities of having a life cut short was endless.

It was a bit childish, but Minato disagreed with the very notion of that phrase. Magi might be prepared for death but none of them truly walk along side it. At the end of the day no mere mortal can ever claim to exist side by side with the concept of the end for they shall never truly understand it, not how he had at least.

The second generation Emiya assumed this Romani guy was a doctor of some kind that works in the facility. He sounded like some sort of bigshot. This was the annoying part of being the new guy, the way that the others speak makes it sound so matter of fact, yet she was the one missing all the context behind it.

"Blood test?" Mash gave him a look that expressed her curiosity. "What sort of blood test takes months to perform?" As one of the Designer Children who 'participated' in the Demi-Servant project, she was needless to say acquainted with the innerworkings of how researchers and doctors operated.

Romani had access to a large enough gene pool from all the staff at Chaldea and from the U.N to conduct a DNA test on Minato to find out his ancestry and Magus lineage if he had one. Just because he came from another world via a dimensional anomaly doesn't mean he didn't have a lineage to trace. Anyone worth their salt knows the Kaleidoscope likes to play games on occasion usually harmless for his own amusement.

And as for more mystical qualities like Divine, Demonic or Phantasmal blood… that was more difficult to analyze. The mere existence of those beings were beyond the Age of Man and the degraded Mage-Craft that comes from this Age of new understanding.

That was the reason why there weren't more lineages stemming from the Age of the Gods coming forward and claiming the prestige and honor of being part of a such ancient line. An exception of that rule would be the Fragas which has no ties to the Association save for the rumored Enforcer they employed.

"Well it's no secret that my genome is slightly different from you all based on the analysis." Minato shrugged nonchalantly as if he was simply talking about the weather. "DNA is much more complex than you think Mash."

Wasn't that the truth, if it were truly that simple then Humans could have already reverse engineered the Lobster's biological immortality and the Axolotl's freakishly impressive regeneration. But they haven't, scientist are still scratching their heads trying to unravel their secrets.

Besides the obvious medical potential in trying to understand his genetics, there was one more possible benefit that might entail from Romani's study.

His genome was ultimately influenced by one extra factor that the Humans of this reality was not influenced by.

Nyx.

A being that was originally an entity that was even larger than the moon itself, that nightly celestial body was nothing more than the REMAINS of the original body of Nyx. Though how the moon came to be in this universe is up for debate, the Crimson Moon was a life form born from the celestial body itself but the moon in his world was just the leftovers of Nyx's body and core.

Shadows were a part of every single man, woman and child in his world. The Kirijo Group had conducted through a thorough years and possibly decades of scientific research on that to ensure the validity of that fact.

A fact that he was admittedly not interested in until the betrayal and backstabbing of the Chairman Ikutsuki. Ryoji had told them that life was meaningless against Nyx, one of the two forces that created it and thus S.E.E.S well he, Fuuka and Mitsuru studied all the remaining research that survive the destruction of labs during the birth of the Dark Hour. It turns out that Ryoji was right all along, they were just too stupid and stubborn to realize it at the time. prideful and arrogant as well, standing against a force of nature to preserve the pride of being a human but if he were to be completely honest, the decision to stand against her was a choice he would choose over and over again regardless of failure.

It HURT to fight it, his soul still screams in pain but simply running away and accepting that inevitability of fate would have hurt a lot more. Maybe it was simply ego, but it was a semblance of pride that he kept even now.

He realized he was having an inner monologue again… he really should stop doing that. Minato would feel mildly embarrassed if anyone called him out on that.

Right… he was thinking of the Shadow's connection to man if he recalled correctly.

And a Shadow was originally a fragment of Nyx, not unlike a Plume of Dusk or the shards of Moon rocks. Just how other research facilities never found out about the Moon's… more otherworldly nature was beyond him. Was Nyx passively guarding it's main body from being discovered or they were simply incompetent, he would never know. Not that it matters now, no one is alive to tell the tale either way.

That meant that Nyx was likely on the same level of existence as Type-Moon theoretically speaking and the original form of Nyx was likely much greater than even that.

This was based on nothing but his own speculation of course but… if it was true then it made accepting of his failings in defeating Nyx much easier to swallow. For all intents and purposes, he was standing against a Lovecraftian entity that was capable of a Mass cross species extinction on a planet wide scale. He wouldn't surprised if Nyx was capable of killing solar systems based on the amount of research that the Kirijo Group had done on that Maternal Being.

It was THEORETICALLY possible, at least in its true undamaged form that is. But even so, he wished he was strong enough to face her back then. Minato Arisato tried to not dwell on the past, but his mind inevitably wanders back to his final battle before being sent to this world in his free time.

His guilt was akin to phantom or a wraith that continues to haunt him no matter how hard the Fool tries to suppress his memories.

The power of the Universe Arcana wasn't enough, HE wasn't enough even with the backing of all of his comrade in arms and his friends that he bonded with during his Journey. Messiah with the light of the Morning Star was capable of at least scratching Nyx based on the cracks he made to her ethereal body, so he knew that he had the potential to at least harm her.

He foolishly assumed that the boost in his powers through gaining the Universe Arcana would have been enough to defeat The Star Eater Nyx… how ludicrous he had been. His greatest blunder was thinking he could match a being of the cosmos while remaining a mere man.

"They only discovered that today, Minato Senpai." The lilac haired woman noted with a bit of suspicious curiosity in her eyes. "You and the Doctor had been working together for months."

True, it was only when the systems scanned him before he "fought" the Training Obsidian Golem that said system noted the slight but very meaningful differences in his Human genome.

"Well Romani wanted to isolate the variables behind my high-speed regeneration." Minato replied a bit too quickly. He had nothing to hide but the Persona User had a good idea why Romani was desperate in studying his blood.

Mash was dying.

He could sense it; he could smell it and could practically taste it just like it was merely second nature to him. He was for all intents and purposes the Human embodiment of Death as far as the World was concerned. He could feel it pulse in his body and his soul, the last remnants of the being known as Pharos or perhaps Ryoji Mochizuki the last name that entity took for itself.

The Wildcard could feel that residual scraps writhe around in his psyche, not in threatening way but that was still a cause for concern. As far as he was concerned, that part of Death NEVER acted that way before. Not a single time back when he was in his old world.

The closest phenomena the Persona User could compare this to would be the birth of one of his most trusted Personas, Thanatos the Ultimate embodiment of the Death Arcana. But even then, that Thanatos could not have been borne without the assistance of his Social Link with Pharos and the Fool thought that was the end of it.

Back then his shard of Death was never strong enough to act on its own, all it could have done was boost his Death Arcana Personas and Messiah's powers and amplify his already impressive Persona abilities beyond what was Humanly possible.

Now… it was acting as if actually alive instead of simply being a part of an existence that was alive ironically.

It had only been a few short months, but the Fool learned to be secretive and keep the fact that he was becoming more like Death hidden. Not because he didn't trust his… acquaintances? Bit too early to call them comrades but knowledge is power, but it also had the potential to be dangerous.

Just like that Magic Core that he possessed, if that was a rare and unique enough of an aspect to convince the director Olga Marie to hire him as her first Master Candidate when his whole history was unknown then similarly the essence of Death was another unique quality of his due to the circumstances of ten years ago. The fact that it was growing stronger and had a more tangible presence within his was… troubling to say the least.

Death despite being the product of human machinations was still a for all intents and purposes a divine type of existence made from the shards of Nyx called Shadows. It became her Avatar; her guiding light and that residual essence was growing within him.

It was probably due to it that he even had a Magic Core to begin with, that or the Universe or Messiah to a lesser extent trying to make his body more suitable using those powers.

That was the problem with him coming to this world, he had no information of his body before those changes that occurred. There was no way to compare the states he was in and the state he was in now in a reliable fashion beyond guess work.

Only time will tell what will happen next. Minato was certain that the Universe Arcana will protect him if Death becomes insidious on the off-chance precaution had never hurt anybody. He had no intentions of simply ignoring it and letting it be but for now, he had to meet up with the good doctor

* * *

**Overall, I am not satisfied with this chapter and frankly it was a bit too dialogue heavy for my liking especially since the lore should be common knowledge by now. But at the same time, it would have felt like a disservice if I simply skipped it and let Shiori learn it off-screen.**

**If any of you found this chapter to be slow-paced, I would actually see why this time. Welp, the next chapter should pick up on the action so stay patient.**

**Sorry for the long delay, I haven't touched this chapter since the 4th of June til yesterday so like three weeks. I have no excuse besides the Rerun of Onigashima farming and my sudden binge of Code Geass fanfictions. I reread most of the ones that made it past 100k.**

**Might consider writing my own Code Geass fic in the future but I suck at writing so ehh**


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